For all what happened at Pekre, this was not just a local incident. It was a major drama which shocked entire Slovenia, PM Janez Jansa said on Saturday as he addressed a ceremony marking 15 years since the first clash between the emerging Slovenian armed forces and the Yugoslav People's Army (JLA).
According to Jansa, the Pekre developments took place during a rather complex political situation both internationally and at home, and had a great symbolic significance showing that Slovenia was serious about its plan to implement was was decided in the 1990 independence plebiscite.
He regretted that the almost 100% unity from the independence plebiscite was not repeated in the spring of 1991 when key decisions regarding preparations for defence were being taken, said Jansa, who was defence minister at the time. He said there had been doubts about whether Slovenia needed its army.
For the first time and most forcefully, Pekre revealed the determination of the Slovenian nation to have an independent state, stressed Jansa, and pointed to the Pekre incident as a positive experience which can still serve as an example today.
"Just as we needed at least some basic unity about the key steps of Slovenian independence back then, we need at least some basic unity about our common view of the future now," stressed Jansa. He added that Slovenia is witnessing positive strategic developments which should allow it to develop and prosper.
Among several 100 people who attended the event there were several ministers, including Defence Minister Karl Erjavec, the chief of staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces Ladislav Lipic, police chief Joze Romsek, the leader of the opposition Social Democrats Borut Pahor, several MPs and war veterans.
The traditional ceremony, which was also addressed by Mayor of Maribor Boris Sovic, was accompanied by several events, including the opening of a memorial room featuring an exhibition of photos and newspaper articles about the Pekre incident as well as a documentary film by TV Slovenija.
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