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ARCHIVALIA OF THE MONTH (JUNE 2013)

The Committee for the Defence of Human RightsThe Founding Document of the Committee for the Defence of Human RightsLjubljana, June 3, 1988Copy, 4 pages.Reference code: SI AS 1289, Odbor za varstvo lovekovih pravic Bavarjev odbor, box 1 (foundingdocument), box 12 (statement), boxes 6 and 12 (letters of support).

June 3rd marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Committee for the Defence of HumanRights. The Committee was set up at the initiative of Igor Bavar three daysafter the arrest of Janez Jana. This months archivalia is the foundingdocument of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights titled Wefounded the Committee for the Defence of Janez Janas Rights. Keptamong our records are 4 versions of this document: the one introduced hereis the document that was published in the magazine Mladina (June 10,1988) and in other printed media. Due to new arrests the Committee for theDefence of Janez Janas Rights changed its name into the Committee forthe Defence of Human Rights on June 6. Archivaldocuments of the Committee were donated to the

Archives of the Republic of Slovenia by theSlovenian Democratic Party in 1991, some of thedocuments were also donated by Marjan Kranjcfrom Ljubljana in 1996. The documents cover the

period between June 1988 and 1990 and consist of 19 archival boxes (2.2running metres).Events that led to the founding of the Committee date back to the final years

of the former Yugoslavia. After the death of Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslaviaexperienced a deep political and economic crisis and despite numerouseconomic measures, there was still inflation rate of 130 % expected for theyear 1988. Throughout the entire state labour strikes took place in factoriesthat employed as many as several thousand workers. Among the biggest strikes were those at theMaribor Vehicle Factory, at the factory Borovo in Vukovar in Croatia, and at the Serbian factory Zmaj.The crisis in Kosovo re-erupted violently and there was a noticeable strengthening of nationalisms inSerbia, Croatia and also in Slovenia. Historians will only be able to provide an accurate assessmentof this period once they have a chance to fully analyse archival documents and other related sourcesthat for the time being are still partly closed for the purposes of scientific research. Archives inBelgrade are undoubtedly a treasury of such documents.

In the spring of 1988, political situation in Slovenia became extremely

strained. People were puzzled by the 72nd session of the CentralCommittee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia where situation in

Slovenia was being discussed and which was held in Belgrade and wasclassified as confidential. There was only a copy of shorthand note ofMilan Kuans speech in Belgrade, one copy was also made for JoeSmole, the president of the SZDL (Socialistina zveza delovnegaljudstva/Socialist Association the of WorkingPeople). Igor Bavar, who at the time was the headof the cabinet of the vice president of SZDL,intercepted the document and submitted a copy ofit to Janez Jana who then forwarded it to Franci

Zavrl, the chief editor of Mladina magazine. Based on this document, VladoMiheljak, using a pseudonym Majda Vrhovnik, wrote an article for Mladinaand titled it Night of the Long Knives. This issue of Mladina was censored bythe State Security Agency and was withdrawn from sale. All this gave rise torumours about the possible military attack in Slovenia and about the list ofpeople that were considered danger to society and needed to be moved outof the way. At the top of this list were primarily those who dared to criticize

the Yugoslav army in their articles and public statements.On May 31, 1988 Janez Jana was arrested. He was a journalist for Mladina and a candidate for thepresident of the ZSMS (Zveza socialistine mladine Slovenije/Allience of Socialist Youth ofSlovenia). Also taken to prison that same day was Ivan Bortner, officer of the Yugoslav army, whotook the confidential military document 5044-3 of Januar 8, 1988. The document was a secret

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command issued by the general Svetozar Vinji, commander of the 9th army district, about thepriorities of military troops in the Slovenian territory in 1988. Bortner handed the document over to

one of the editors of Mladina magazine David Tasi, who was arrested onJune 4. Arrests of the civilian defendants and their interrogation were carriedout by Slovenian state security agents, and the defendants were then turnedover to investigation and court authorities of the Yugoslav Peoples Army.Franci Zavrl, chief editor of Mladina magazine, was allowed to defendhimself while outside prison. The general public was ill informed of thearrests; people did not even know based on which point of criminalprocedure act Jana was arrested and what exactly were charges against

him.At the special session on June 3, Igor Bavar presented the initiative for thefounding of the Committee for the protection of Janez Janas Rights. Thefounders of the Committee were the signatories of the Statement for JanezJana of June 1, 1988and others who joined the statement later on. Their

signatures show that the initiative for the founding of the Committee managed to unite almost entireSlovenian cultural, scientific, professional, society, youth and most of all democratic public,regardless of their differences in political views, religious beliefs and other convictions. Members ofthe work presidium were Igor Bavar, Pavle Gantar, Bojan Korsika, Rastko Monik and Mile etinc.

Also preserved are three documents with names of the members of the collegium which consisted of35 people. More than 100,000 individual members and about 1000 different institutions joined theCommittee as well. Individuals and institutions wrote hundreds of letters of support. The Committeeregularly kept Slovenian and foreign public informed about the events of the trial. The day after the

founding, members of the presidium wrote an open letter to all the highest

representatives of the Slovenian power and to Raif Dizdarevi, the presidentof the Presidium of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, statingclearly that Jana case is the start of the process that could havedisastrous political consequences. The Committee demanded the releaseof the defendants, the possibility of a civil trial and the choosing of a civildefence attorney, they called for the trial to be held in the Slovenianlanguage, pluralisation of society, multi-party political system ... Crowds ofpeople gathered daily in front of the Military Court in Roka Street inLjubljana where the trial against Jana, Bortner, Tasi and Zavrl tookplace. Different forms of protests were being organized, the most massivedemonstration was held on June 21 and was attended by 40,000 to 50,000people. The Committee became the most important and numerous civilsociety of the Slovenian Spring and contributed greatly to democratization of Slovenia. Soon afterthe dissolving of the Committee Slovenia witnessed its first multi-party elections and in December1990 the plebiscite for the independent Slovenia was held.Literature:- Balaic, Milan: Slovenska demokratina revolucija 19861988. Ljubljana: Liberalna akademija,2004.- Jana, Janez: Premiki. Nastajanje in obramba slovenske drave. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1992.- Jenu, Gregor: Proces proti etverici. Studia Historica Slovenica, Letn. 7, t. 1/2 (2007), str. 6191.- Miheljak, Vlado: Slovenci padajo v nebo. Ljubljana: Znanstveno in publicistino sredie, 1995.- Repe, Boo: Aretacija Janeza Jane in proces proti etverici. Slovenska kronika XX. stoletja. 2.knj., 19411995. Ljubljana: Nova revija,1997, str. 411412.- Repe, Boo: Odbor za varstvo lovekovih pravic. Slovenska kronika XX. stoletja. 2. knj., 19411995. Ljubljana: Nova revija,1997, str. 413.

Vesna Gotovina