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Prime Minister Pahor receives relatives of members of Territorial Defence, the Ministry of the Interior and civilian victims killed in the war for independence

On the eve of Statehood Day and the 18th anniversary of Slovenia’s independence, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, held the traditional reception for relatives of members of the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Ministry of the Interior, and of civilian war victims killed in the war for Slovenia's independence. On this opportunity, he addressed the participants with the following words: "Slovenians were never offered freedom, they always had to fight for it; for this freedom, we can thank only those brave people willing to sacrifice their lives in those difficult circumstances, not for their own goals but for national goals. Without their courage, valour and selflessness, Slovenians would not have achieved this freedom in 1991, after its declaration of independence."
 

(Foto: Tina Kosec/Bobo)

 
In memory of those troubled times, Prime Minister Pahor added: "No generation of Slovenians may ever forget that the freedom of our independent country was achieved by military resistance against an aggressor which had tried to put a stop to our freedom and independence. All of us must ensure that this part of history remains in the memory of our children; without it, we would not live in an independent country, which has become successful, joined Nato and the European Union and has lived and breathed freely up to this day. In memory of those victims, who are a part of our common pain, and the common history at which we must look with pride."
 
At the end of his address at the traditional reception, which was also attended by the President of the Republic, Dr Danilo Türk, and the President of the National Assembly, Pavel Gantar, Prime Minister Pahor added that dreams had been allowed on that day 18 years ago and that dreams were also necessary today, but with a certain difference: "On that fatal evening eighteen years ago, we wondered what tomorrow would bring restlessly, but today we can look towards the future with certain dreams, hope and faith, and without the same anxiety."