To mark 15 years since the events which led to independence war a month later, a ceremony will be staged this afternoon near the city of Maribor to remember the first clash between the emerging Slovenian armed forces and the Yugoslav People's Army (JLA).
The "Pekre incident" occurred on 23 May 1991, when members of the Territorial Defence forces captured two JLA scouts in the vicinity of a new military training centre at Pekre, where 120 conscripts started training eight days before.
Although the two were soon released, the JLA brought in tanks and armoured vehicles and surrounded the centre within hours, which outraged the people of Maribor, who took to streets to protest against the action of the JLA en masse.
The tensions started earlier when the JLA demanded that the Pekre Territorial Defence centre, which was inaugurated on 10 May, and another one near Ljubljana be shut down and that the Slovenian authorities submit their files about the conscripts.
To appease the situation, representatives of both sides met with the then Mayor of Maribor Magdalena Tovornik on 24 May to reach an agreement, but the JLA kidnapped the regional Territorial Defence commander for Maribor.
JLA facilities, expect hospitals, were cut electricity supply, which resulted in its commanders threatening with retaliation. Military planes and helicopters started overflying Slovenia. The next day, the Slovenian commander was released and electricity supply restored.
The Pekre clash also claimed the first civilian victim of the Slovenian Independence War. Josif Simcik was run over during the protests on 24 May in front of JLA barracks when he tried to prevent a vehicle from leaving the barracks.
While "the Pekre incident" was over in less than a week, the tensions kept mounting as the country was preparing to declare independence on 25 June, when all-out war broke out. Because of its short duration, it is often referred to as the ten-day war.
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