By: Dr Stane Granda
The behaviour of the current government with the previous one and its president can only be characterised as obsession. How the first president of the independent Slovenian state passed this on to so many people is the subject of the psychiatric profession. But such cases are known from history. It is not an exclusive feature of communists, but it is, at least in the 20th century, characteristic of them. How many people did the regime, which in history killed the most people in the name of ideology, liquidate only Trotskyists. Many who killed them had no idea what it even meant. How will historians define this pathology of Slovenes in the future? It has no comparison! At least for the 20th century, they will have to start from Stalinism or its conception of Marxist internationalism. The pathological phenomenon of anti-Janšism only confirms that Slovenia was the most Stalinist unit of the communist community.
Recently, a newspaper that once presented itself as the bearer of Slovenian independence, but today is often a leader in the anti-democratic efforts of the former rulers, surprised us by writing about the complications in the re-awarding of the honorary signs of freedom that were once returned. We do not understand why the receivers took them. The reason why they rejected them still exists. Moreover, by honouring Ertl, it became a disgrace. In fact, the state should determine a new award for Slovenian independence winners, which would also be the highest. And its granting is extremely limited and protected against abuse.
As can be seen publicly today, the initiation of a discussion about the correctness of the behaviour of the management of the museum, which kept the awards, was only a prelude to a perverted reckoning with the alleged Janša’s staff and institutions. The museum of Slovenian independence has been closed, Jože Dežman will be saved. Of course, this contradicts the facts and the truth, but in the background, there is psychopathology, against which only psychiatry is effective, if any. In fact, it is not clear whether he is collateral damage or the Museum of Slovenian Independence. The fact is that pathological anti-Janšism prevails over the minimum of patriotism among those in power, including the president of the country.
The discussion of deaccession, deinventorization of decorations is extremely valuable. Namely, it raises questions about the handling of historical material. So far, no one has addressed the issue, which colleague Durjava humorously described as archivocide. When will Kučan be called to account for the destruction of 90 percent of the archival material of the Udba? Danilo Türk, as the president of the country, who should be the first to take care of state property and national cultural heritage, therefore even awarded Ertl! When will the self-proclaimed custodians of the historical profession, who helped the government destroy the Museum of Slovenian Independence, namely the government refers to them, raise the issue of the destruction of Slovenian cultural wealth after the Second World War? It is not only an ideological reckoning, such as monasteries, churches, but also such as the legacy of E.H. Costa, the courts, the Črnomelj Regional Government in 1973(!)… Where is the legacy of the FZC, the equipment of the castles and bourgeois salons blown up after the war? We could go on and on, but in the end, let’s ask what happens to the archival material that should have been obtained on the basis of the archival agreement with Austria after the First World War, what happens to the archives that were taken away by the Italians… What about the archives that we would have to get after the breakup of Yugoslavia?
Looking at the thirty-year past of the Slovenian state is schizophrenic. The construction of the state and its destruction alternate, which sometimes acts like a conspiracy. Not only political, but also criminal, which often even dominates. It is impossible to find a parallel in history for as much as has been stolen from the Slovenian state. In order for this to take place as little as possible, the impression of a permanent revolution is created, which corrects the consequences of the counter-revolution caused by the independence fighters and the bearers of democracy. How to understand that Rop’s government denied Pučnik, whom everyone acknowledges as the father of the Slovenian state, a state funeral, but they organise it for Zemljarič, and not only for him, but for all those who stood out, who were the embodiment of the opposite of democratisation and Slovenian statehood. The “Solkan government” is adding something new to the existing problems, in the form of looting and impoverishment of the poorest part of the population in the name of an energy crisis, which will be followed by a food crisis in the spring. The government makes a lot of promises and announcements, but nothing actually happens. Due to “great discoveries” about the state of health care, not a single patient will be operated on a minute earlier.
They claim that Slovenia is not a normal country. While they talk about a human-friendly future, we are dominated by an obsession with the image and content of the past. Falsifying history is an institution. The victim of this has long been no longer just independence, but an “untouchable” revolution that places death (Dražgoše…) as the highest value, the top, and the meaning of “NOB”.
The Solkan government, together with the president of the country, let’s remember her Carinthian slip, permanently went down in Slovenian cultural history by abolishing the Museum of Slovenian Independence. Until now, only the Nazis were capable of such unprecedented barbarism, rejection, primitivism and cynicism, contempt for Slovenianness on Slovenian soil. An additional tragedy is that one of the key roles in this was played by some historians from the Ljubljana Faculty of Philosophy and their companions.