Plaque Unveiled on "Headquarters" of Independence Coordinating Group
A plaque was unveiled on Saturday on the front of Cankarjev dom to honour the task force which coordinated the country's independence efforts. The conference and arts centre was chosen as the site of the plaque because 15 years ago the task force had chosen it as its "headquarters".
A reason the authorities had chosen Cankarjev dom as a communication point was its proximity to the government palace. The centre also hosted press conferences at which journalists were briefed about developments in the independence war, which broke just hours after independence was declared on 26 June 1991.
"The unity from 15 year ago when we set ourselves goals and fully used our potential should be a legacy on which the Slovenian nation should build in the future," said Igor Bavcar, the then interior minister, as he unveiled the plaque.
Thanks to our own preparedness and the absence of any illusion that we could count on anything but our own abilities, we managed to do it on our own, said Bavcar.
His words were echoed by PM Janez Jansa, who spoke to the press after attending the plaque ceremony: "The period of Slovenia's independence efforts was a time of great unity among the people..."
"This can be a great source of power and energy for the future," he said. Now that we are seeking what is dubbed the third consensus on the country's development, it is absolutely necessary to be aware that we can stand together.
Summarising some of the achievements such as the upcoming euro switch, Jansa said that for the first time in its history Slovenia has a realistic basis to develop faster than any time before.
Happy that the energy from 15 years ago is focusing again, Jansa believes that "the period which has been neglecting and abusing the capital of independence is coming to an end".
It is no coincidence that it took 15 years and a new government consisting mainly of political actors from the time of independence for a plaque on Cankarjev dom to be unveiled. "This was impossible under the LDS governments and the former president [Milan Kucan]..."
More articles from this issue:
Archive
|