Jansa: Primorsko Deserves Credit for Slovenia's EU Membership
The Primorsko region deserves major credit for the fact that Slovenians have been able to not only keep-up with the more developed European neighbourhood, but also to participate in it, PM Janez Jansa said on Friday as speaker of honour at a ceremony held to remember the return of a large part of Primorsko to the country.
The return of this western region to Slovenia as part of the Paris Peace Treaty, which took effect in the night from 15 to 16 September 1947, was remembered this year at the as yet unfinished memorial to the defenders of Slovenian territory on Mount Cerje.
According to Jansa, the loss of Primorsko after World War I was a traumatic experience for all Slovenians. "Slovenia cannot be successful if Primorsko is not successful as well," Jansa told a crowd of over 1,000, which included Parliamentary Speaker France Cukjati and former President Milan Kucan.
For centuries no foreign force was capable of breaking their national consciousness, but with the arrival of Fascism the Primorsko Slovenians - the first European antifascists - had to resort to arms, Jansa said.
"This was by no means terrorism as some are trying to prove," the PM added while also pointing to the importance of Slovenians abroad and their help in these historic times.
He remembered the 19th century poet Simon Gregorcic as an important voice of the national consciousness of Primorsko Slovenians, but noted that in Slovenia, taxes will never be able to cover the financial needs of culture.
When the long-term economic situation is taken care of, entrepreneurs will also find it easier to support Slovenian culture, Jansa believes.
He also touched on the memorial to the defenders of Slovenian territory on Mount Cerje, describing it as a symbol of power, defiance, persistence and the toughness of national existence.
"Let it encourage national unity, strengthen national consciousness and help national interests once and for all prevail over political, ideological and personal ones," Jansa concluded.
It is only the second year that the return of Primorsko has been celebrated in Slovenia. Last year the ceremony was held in the coastal city of Portoroz after parliament made 15 September a national holiday with a change to the holiday act.
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