Address by the President at the state ceremony celebrating Slovenian Statehood Day

Ljubljana, 24.6.2009  |  speech

Address by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, at the state ceremony celebrating Slovenian Statehood Day
Ljubljana, 24 June 2009


Dear Citizens of Slovenia,
Fellow Slovenians around the world,
Distinguished Guests,

Today, we celebrate the birthday of our country, the Republic of Slovenia. Here, in this historic place, Slovenia set out on the path of attaining its sovereignty and independence eighteen years ago. Here, our nation lived to see the ultimate realisation of its historic dreams. There was no way back. There was only the way forward ahead of us – the way towards democracy, respect of human rights and the rule of law, and the way towards integration into the international community and European associations.

Today, after eighteen years, we have reached the end of a significant stage of this journey. In the life of a person, the eighteenth birthday is usually considered the age of majority, bringing new responsibilities and requiring a proper level of maturity. In the life of a country, the comparison with human maturity is appropriate for reflection: We are at the end of one road and at the beginning of another, new road. We remember the distance travelled with both pride and critical reflection, and deliberate the new challenges with due seriousness.

The beginning of our journey was difficult. We were confronted with the aggression of the then Yugoslav Army and doubts about our project of independence, which prevailed throughout the entire international community. However, the fight for our statehood, both on the battlefield and over the negotiating table, was brought to a successful and prompt conclusion.

A number of participants in the War for Slovenia and members of the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice are among us today. And they are the ones to be particularly thanked for the independence we have won. During the war, we had full confidence in all of you who risked your lives in the units of the manoeuvre structure of the national defence, the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Slovenian Police. With your courage and prudence in the battle, you made an invaluable contribution to our statehood and to our achievements in peacetime. We are grateful and proud of you. We know that without success in the battle there would be no progress during the following time of peace.

Throughout our history, nothing was ever simply granted to us. We earned the right to our own country and fought for it. We demonstrated our patriotism at all decisive moments – from the times when the idea of a united Slovenia took shape and the times of the national liberation struggle during the Second World War, to the war for independence eighteen years ago. Today, upon the maturity of our country, our greatest thanks go to all of you who risked everything in battle, and also to you who, in battle, lost your dearest ones.

In the eighteen years following the war for independence, our country has passed several demanding tests. And throughout this period of time, our country was considered trustworthy by its citizens. We accepted the urgency of change. The transformation of our society was carried out with diligence. We rejected the illusions of quick solutions offered to us from abroad. We avoided unnecessary experiments. We protected our currency. We successfully integrated into the European Union and NATO. Within the European Union, we rapidly integrated into its core parts, the Schengen area and the Euro zone. We chaired international organisations and bodies, such as the UN Security Council, the OSCE and, just now, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Our Presidency of the Council of the European Union was also a success, which greatly contributed to the reputation of our country.

At the same time, we have preserved a high level of social security. We have built solid foundations for intergenerational solidarity and for social solidarity in general. We have taken proper care of our language and culture. We have broadened the scope of action of civil and social organisations. We have promoted physical culture and sports. We have raised the prosperity level of our country, bringing it closer to that of the more developed EU Member States.

However, we have also made mistakes: In some respects, the denationalisation process in Slovenia was not well considered. Privatisation has resulted in forms of ownership concentration that are detrimental to our development and that were also subject to errors and illegal activities. It is, therefore, high time to remedy this situation.

We have not done enough in the sphere of technological modernisation of our industry. We have not sufficiently invested in research and development. We have not done enough to assure the quality of higher education. We have not adequately encouraged creativity and enterprise. We have often paid too little attention and lacked the determination to defend fundamental social values such as responsibility, care for the common good and patriotism.

The global economic crisis, which has also affected Slovenia, has highlighted the range of our deficiencies. However, for a grown-up human being as well as for an experienced country, awareness of shortcomings is no tragedy. On the contrary, recognition and open acceptance and overcoming one's own weaknesses are prerequisites for further progress. On this day, on which our country has symbolically come of age, we ask ourselves how to proceed in the future, how to remedy our deficiencies and how to secure the best possible future for our country. It is obvious that we need a new impulse and a transition to a new level in the economy, politics, culture and our own conscience.

We once used to think that the period of "transition" was far behind us. This is true only to a relatively minor extent. We have, indeed, developed a market economy and a pluralistic parliamentary democracy. We have created a sovereign state and promptly joined European integration processes. However, the speed with which this change was effected has left many tasks unfinished. Our economic development does not match that of our neighbours. Our state organisation needs to be upgraded and our public services need to be improved. Moreover, Slovenia needs to undertake major environmental efforts in the future. We must consider well how to make best use of our sovereignty – for the benefit of our own community and for the benefit of a better world. We are part of the world and thus share the responsibility for world peace, development and protection of the environment.

The change which we need today will have to give a new quality to our existence. It will have to broaden the horizons of human freedom, provide for a different understanding of prosperity and enhance the responsibility for the nation’s destiny. Only under these conditions will we be able to speak about a transition to a new level and consequently also about the success story in the future.

We have already heard it said in this very square that we would like to be the best, and it is right to say so. So let us make our best efforts to come closer to this ideal.

Our thoughts should, therefore, be directed to the future. All our energies should be focused on achieving this goal. And, above all, we should devote much more attention to the young generation and its problems. The young have the right to a future. They will create a future for themselves in this country and shape it according to their own wishes. And this is precisely why they should not be burdened by the past.

This is also an important reason why we must stop using our painful past for political purposes. The memory of the victims of all wars and post-war violence in our territory needs to be preserved with profound sympathy, while the search for historical truths should be left to historians.

Crimes must be punished. All crimes must be condemned and those who committed them must be made accountable. Judicial proceedings related to the injustices of the past should be conducted until justice is done, patiently, persistently and with a proper sense of the seriousness of the problem, respecting fully the requirements of legal proceedings and with the firm faith that everything that can be accomplished through judicial means will be achieved by these means. It is right that the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia support these efforts.

On the other hand, all of us as a political community and as a nation, must address the serious issues which are of key importance for our future and the future of the young generation. The young generation IS our future. Today, we have many talented young people. These young people are the best guarantee for our future. However, do we give them enough and, in particular, the right opportunities? Is our young generation getting well prepared for the daunting tasks of the future?

We have too many young people who have no permanent employment and depend on short-term work contracts. The share of young people who are only temporarily employed is among the highest in the European Union. There are also too many young people who lose their jobs, who cannot take loans and who have great difficulty providing for the financial well-being of their families. There is too much insecurity among the young. This should also be a reason for concern in our country, because its future vitally depends on the willpower and energy of young people, their knowledge and visions, and their trust in the community and in the country itself. We must offer young people the chance to prove themselves, but also to live a full life, to become independent and to be integrated early enough into the formation of our community, and to raise their own families with the feeling of a safe future provided by a stable society. The State must provide conditions, including the legal conditions, to give the young a justified feeling of stability and a prosperous future. This is an important task to be fulfilled for the long-term future of our country. At the time when our country symbolically reaches the age of majority, it is right that we position the future of the young generation on the top of the agenda.

This is a crucial priority for us as well as the entire European Union, which increasingly realises that young people constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in society, especially in the current economic and financial crisis, and that they are very precious in our ageing society. The new European strategy for youth policy is turning into an increasingly important part of European development. We must not allow ourselves to lag behind that development!

Fellow Citizens of Slovenia,

Important and demanding tasks lie ahead of us. We must strengthen our creativity and enterprising spirit. The current economic crisis is as much an opportunity as it is a challenge – but it is an opportunity only for those who have true knowledge and the right skills. We are a hard-working nation. But this is not enough. We must think better and more. Only with a more enterprising spirit and greater creativity can we emerge from this crisis stronger.

The immediate tasks of our moment are becoming clearer as well. We need a resolute and penetrating policy for the way out of the crisis. We need government measures and legislative proposals that will project resolve. We need a creative debate between the social partners and between the government and the opposition, a debate that will mobilise all the potentials of our society in a common effort. We need to strengthen our legal system and its institutions, which must attain full authority and high standing. The rule of law is a condition for all our development in the future. We also have to review our Constitution and determine whether our development and our future in a changing world call for amendment.

These are the important tasks that face us, all of which again testify to the importance of our State, our independent, sovereign Slovenia. Sovereignty means that we are not subordinated to anyone. We have to manage our State wisely and with a feeling for the needs of our people and our times. However, our daily lives and our development do not only depend upon the State. A lot will depend on our solidarity and a sense of community. We all can do more to help those among us who are the most severely affected by the present crisis. We all can do more to stop social differentiation in our society and to open opportunities for young people. We all can do more to help all socially disadvantaged groups that are first affected by the economic crisis. We all can do more for our natural environment, for our health and for the quality of life. Each and every one of us can contribute. Civil society organisations are even more valuable in our time than they were before. Volunteering is increasingly recognised as a value and as an example. Social solidarity is recognised as our fundamental value, as the noblest expression of our personal freedom and our feeling of shared responsibility for other people. Solidarity is also a way to strengthen mutual trust, trust in the community and trust in the State.

Fellow Citizens of Slovenia,

In the life of a country, eighteen years are still not enough for the historical coming of age. However, they are more than enough to reflect on the path travelled and on the important tasks awaiting us in the future. And above all, the National Day is the day of good wishes for the future of our State and the day when we make a commitment to do even more for it. Our past success testifies to the fact that this commitment is not an empty promise, and the tasks of the future demand that we proceed resolutely and boldly on our journey ahead.

Let us celebrate, then, with self-confidence and good feelings. Tomorrow a new day is dawning. New challenges are coming to capable and determined people, to Slovenians, and above all new opportunities and new horizons of freedom and prosperity.

Our State has a good future. Slovenia, the best of luck as you go on your way!