By: Janez Remškar
I write with hope, though probably in vain, because in Slovenia we are still divided due to the communist revolution, when it comes to the truth about events before, during, and after the Second World War. I hope and wish that, for the sake of our children, we could reach out to one another sincerely, without hidden agendas, and say the word “sorry.” By doing so, we would stop building our political identity on the past. After 34 years of so-called democracy in Slovenia, it is clear that without an apology, we will not bring closure to the civil war with the revolution, and this continues to hinder our development as a nation.
We must realise that the post-war trials were first and foremost political acts, where the victor held the right of the stronger! Had the post-war proceedings been judicial processes based on objectivity and the search for truth, we would not be entangled in the past today! But the revolutionaries had no such intentions. On the contrary – they blamed their political opponents for starting the civil war, for relying on the help of foreign occupiers, and thus claimed they had lost any right to speak on behalf of the people ever again.
This narrative held firm until 1990, and even today, politicians, out of political self-interest, still refuse to accept the truth, despite the existence of historical documents. Instead, they talk about “falsifying history,” while the truth remains only “their” version.
In 1990, we Slovenes made it abundantly clear through the plebiscite that we demanded and desired democracy and an independent Slovenia! Before and after that moment, however, many Slovenian politicians, the successors of the old party structures, were not enthusiastic about it. They “cooperated” in the preparations for the plebiscite through gritted teeth. And immediately after the vote, they resumed efforts to obstruct the Demos coalition in its preparations for independence! (One only needs to review the debates in the then Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.) I am probably not saying anything new when I mention the now well-known words later spoken by the former president, Mr. Kučan, that an independent Slovenia was not his “intimate option.”
I can imagine that, as a long-serving functionary of the Communist Party at the time, he was aware of the thinking, concepts, and agendas of the Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA), steeped in communist ideology and the physical elimination of political opponents (something I personally heard during training at the reserve officers’ school in Belgrade in the 1970s). I can imagine that he understood and foresaw this brutality, this demand to preserve a totalitarian regime, and the role of the YPA in all parts of the former Yugoslavia where there was at least a segment of the population of Serbian ethnicity. If that is the case, then silence is no excuse, he should have spoken out! And for Milan Kučan, at a time when Slovenes clearly favoured independence, to hold a different view? That was not an acceptable position. (Participation in the plebiscite was 93%, and 95.71% of voters voted YES, which amounted to 88.5% of all eligible voters at the time.) Even then, the media, through the discrediting of Dr Jože Pučnik (labelling him a “revenge-seeker”), succeeded in helping preserve the rule of the old political structures.
And what does Kučan think today?
I took the time to listen to the interview between Milan Kučan and Marcel Štefančič. I already had a clear idea of what kind of questions would come from the well-read film enthusiast and inspiring supporter of the communist revolution and its legacy. I followed the responses with interest.
Right at the start, in response to a question about Borut Pahor’s interview with Jože Možina and his view on the events in Gaza, Kučan claimed that Pahor believes it is not genocide. Kučan, and everyone who truly cares about Slovenia, should go back and watch Pahor’s interview again! He should have quoted Pahor directly, not inserted his own interpretation of what Pahor said. He added that this was merely his opinion, which he is entitled to, but also said that one must not alter another person’s statement based on personal judgment! Pahor condemned the events in Gaza and mentioned that legal proceedings are underway to determine whether war crimes have been committed, he added that this was likely. He then considered whether crimes against humanity had occurred, possibly, and concluded that he personally would not go as far as the President of Slovenia regarding the term genocide. That was Pahor! So, according to Kučan, Pahor allegedly claimed there is no genocide in Gaza, a matter which Kučan considers a civilisational, ethical, political, and legal issue.
Let’s pause here and reflect on Kučan’s moralising about civilisational, ethical, legal, and political questions. Did Kučan, at any point before 1990, speak out about wartime executions of unarmed political opponents, post-war massacres, the Dachau-style trials, property seizures, and the expulsion of people? He held the highest offices of the former regime. Surely, if he were the principled, ethical, and upright politician he claims to be now, he would have spoken up at some point. But he did not. Why? Likely because he assumed that the communists, through their methods, including terror if necessary, would never lose power! Let us remember the words of Stane Dolanc, quote: “Everyone must understand that we, the communists, are in power here. Because if we were not, someone else would be. But that is not the case, and it never will be.” (Statement made on September 9th, 1972, in Split)
Now, in the interview with Štefančič, when the journalist claimed that in the context of Gaza, the issue of burying those killed after the war is being brought up again, something the political right refers to as genocide, Kučan replied hesitantly, quote: “No, I think it was a crime, which the official policy, the Slovenian state, has, how should I put it, expressed itself on, I think that is the right term, and has also condemned it.”
Kučan, as a longtime party politician, knows full well that words are one thing, and actions another. We are still dealing with proud successors of the communist regime! And for him, a man who remained silent for so long, it would have been better to stay silent still, rather than now placing “civilisational norms” and “ethics” at the forefront. Not least during his symbolic handshake with Archbishop Šuštar at the Koren cave, he was not being sincere. I am convinced he knew of an even greater crime hidden nearby, in the cave under Macesnova Gorica, as well as about the Barbara Pit and other mass graves, but he said nothing. Why?
Because political division remains a tool of governance for him. And for Slovenians, both old and young, this spells trouble if we do not stop perpetuating such politics. Our national broadcaster, RTV, has completely submitted to these tendencies. Meanwhile, something else is happening in Slovenia that should deeply concern us. And about this, Mr. Kučan, who claims to care so deeply for the Slovene people, says absolutely nothing. Unlike Stane Dolanc, who once openly stated: “We know very well one of the central slogans of the irredentists: Buy land and bear children.” Does this not ring a bell? Should this not be a warning?