Celebrations were held in Koper to mark the day 15 years ago when the last soldier of the Yugoslav People's Army (JLA) left Slovenia. The end of the independence war brought democracy to the northernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and gave Europe a new, free nation, Alojz Peterle, the keynote speaker, said in his address.
The story about the withdrawal of the JLA from Slovenia is the story of freedom, said Peterle, a member of the European Parliament and Slovenian prime minister at the time of the withdrawal.
According to him, 26 October 1991 is a landmark in the story of Slovenia's independence and it signals the final defeat of the JLA in Slovenia.
The departure of the Yugoslav army ended the period of Slovenia's struggle for their language, culture and survival and started the life of a confident, sovereign political entity, he said.
Albin Gutman, the chief-of-staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, meanwhile said that the Slovenian army was still building on the legacy of the veterans.
He said the army was now successfully participating in the creation of world peace in organisations such as NATO.
Earlier today Defence Minister Karl Erjavec opened a photo exhibition entitled "War for Slovenia" at the Pretorian Palace in Koper. The photos document the struggle for independence.
In his address, Erjavec stressed that it was not until the last Yugoslav soldier left the country that Slovenia could realise its full sovereignty.
Erjavec said that Slovenia was now successfully implementing democratic standards and plays an active part in the EU and NATO.
The withdrawal of the Yugoslav army started in September, after the expiry of a three-month moratorium on independence activities that was agreed with the Brijuni Declaration of 7 July 1991.
The departure of the last Yugoslav soldiers, who left Slovenia from the Port of Koper, is considered as the culmination of the independence process that started with the first multi-party elections in 1990, continued with the 1991 independence referendum and reached boiling point in the ten-day war for independence in the summer of 1991.
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