Exhibition Stresses Importance of Photography in Democratisation

Ljubljana, 7 May

The importance of the photo of the incumbent Prime Minister Janez Jansa's arrest for the democratisation of Slovenia was stressed at the opening of an exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Human Rights Committee, one of the cornerstones of democratisation efforts in the then Socialist Republic of Slovenia.

The exhibition of photographs by Tone Stojko, then a photo journalist of political weekly Mladina, documents the activities by the committee, prompted by the 1988 trial before a military court against three journalists of Mladina and a non-commissioned officer, and the following "Slovenian Spring".
Igor Bavcar, the then chair of the committee and now CEO of conglomerate Istrabenz, highlighted at the Tuesday opening the subversive function of the photo, which revealed that the arrest was carried out by members of the secret police.
A panel preceeding the opening questioned tried to answer the question whether a "photo, sound and word bring down a regime". Journalist Ali Zerdin said that the photographic disclosure of the secret arrest was an important political development, while the photo also had a big political effect because it was encouraging for the public.
He added that in the 1980s the most attention went to press reports in writing, while the aim of the exhibition was to rehabilitate photography, which also advanced social processes.
Stojko meanwhile said that he was lucky to have had the chance to take the photo of the secret arrest of Jansa. He added that after that he got sucked into the developments.
Journalist Vlado Miheljak said that Janez Jansa was not in the centre of the developments then, while one single photo made history. In his opinion a photo is stronger than words and was more annoying in history.
The Human Rights Committee was established on 3 June 1988, four days after Jansa's arrest, then a Mladina journalist. Jansa was arrested for being in possession of a secret military document.
News later broke out that Yugoslav army soldier Ivan Borstner was arrested on the same day as Jansa. Mladina journalist David Tasic was arrested a few days later, while charges were also pressed against Mladina editor Franci Zavrl.
The committee was established on the behest of Bavcar and monitored the proceedings in front of the military court as well as organised rallies in the support of the four defendants.

Exhibition Stresses Importance of Photography in Democratisation

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