Keynote Speech by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, Mag
Keynote speech by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, Mag. Miroslav Mozetič Independence and Unity Day, Cankar Hall, 23 December 2015 Oh, motherland, when God created you, He blessed you abundantly, saying: "Merry people in this place will dwell; song will be their language and joyous cries their song!" And it happened just as He said. Seeds of God had sprouted, ample fruit they bore - Heaven grew 'neath Triglav's mighty slopes (Ivan Cankar, Kurent) Your Excellency, Mr Borut Pahor, President of the Republic, Honourable Members of Parliament - the representatives of the people, Honourable representatives of the Executive and Judiciary, representatives of religious communities, “my beloved Slovenes,” and citizens! Let us ask ourselves today: Have we been successful at fulfilling the vision of Cankar? Or was it just a dream? Today is the right day for such a question, as we are celebrating the Independence and Unity Day in commemoration of that magnificent day 25 years ago, when on 23 December 1990 we replied to the plebiscite question: “Shall the Republic of Slovenia become an independent and sovereign state?” by saying: YES. And there were 1,289,369 of us who chose this answer. There were only 57,800 votes against. We can certainly state that on that day, Slovenes and other residents of the then Republic of Slovenia demonstrated unity, as well as a firm determination and courage of many to bring to life a dream of and longing for the establishment of our own state. We did not miss out on the historic opportunity offered to us.
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