Slovenia Honours Its Best Known General

Gornja Radgona, 23 November

Education Minister Milan Zver underscored the value of patriotism as he addressed tonight's high-profile ceremony upon Rudolf Maister Day, honouring the day in 1918 when General Rudolf Maister took control of Maribor and in effect secured what later became Slovenia's northern border.

There are moments in the life of an individual or a nation which call for courage and tenacity, all of which Maister displayed to save a large portion of our homeland, Zver said in his address to the event in the border town of Gornja Radgona
Zver highlighted General Maister's role in raising the awareness of the Slovenian nation, an effort that he said culminated in Slovenia's independence in 1991.
If it were not for the risks like the one taken by General Maister as well as those taken in World War II and the independence war in 1991, an independent and democratic Slovenia would have not existed today, Zver said.
He linked those patriotic deeds with the topical developments in the country, saying the respect for homeland was again topical today.
"The least that can be said about Slovenia abroad is that there is no media repression, ethnic segregation or systematic undermining of human rights and freedoms," Zver said in reference to a media petition against censorship.
Zver urged Slovenians to make the spell at the EU presidency in the first half of 2008 a time of national pride, a milestone in their history and to use it as a chance to showcase Slovenian achievements in Europe and worldwide.
Slovenia should overcome self-absorption when all the eyes are upon it, the key-note speaker said in his address at the ceremony, which was also attended by Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Speaker France Cukjati.
Maister is seen as one of the most prominent military personalities in Slovenian history. It is largely owing to him that Maribor, Slovenia's second-largest city, and the northeast of Slovenia became part of the new Yugoslav state rather than Austria following the break-up of the Austrian Hungarian Empire.
Maister was in command of the regional headquarters at the end of World War I and in 1918 assumed command of Maribor and the Slovenian part of Carinthia. He set up a Slovenian army of 4,000 soldiers, disarmed the German Schutzwehr security service, and disbanded the army of the German city council.
The general then occupied Slovenian ethnic territory, establishing the northern border between Austria and Yugoslavia that was later ratified by the Saint Germain Peace Treaty. The same border still divides Slovenia and Austria today.

Slovenia Honours Its Best Known General

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