Slovenians in London 91-94

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Exhibition Catalogue

Grass-roots Activities for Slovenian IndependenceThe Slovenian Crisis Centre and the Slovenian Newsletter

Slovenians in London 1991-1994

Jana Valencic and Miha Dobrin


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A PERSONAL VIEW

The political and military events leading up to Slovenias

independence have been widely documented by the me-

dia. What was less well acknowledged were the activities

of Slovene citizens who were living abroad at the time.

This exhibition attempts to document the response of a

small group of Slovenes living in UK in 1991. The indi-

viduals concerned did not have close contact with eachother until events began to take place but were galvanised

into committed group action by shared concern over Slov-

enia.

As an Englisman married to a Slovene, I was able to make

relatively objective observations and watch this phenom-

enon of a pressure group action unfold, with a growing

admiration for not only the energy involved, but also of

the ability to negotiate and reach decisions rapidly. In my

view, this exhibition is not simply a record of events - it

is a small tribute to the individuals who took the time andenergy to participate and who did not merely stand back

passively.

This exhibition should not be viewed simply as an archive

- it points to the future, offering an example of how com-

mitted individuals and groups can actively take part in

society. By persistent pressure the will of people at grass

roots level can influence the decision makers, politically,

culturally and commercially.

This exhibition contains examples of grass roots action atpressure group level, throught the Slovenian Crisis Cen-

tre and the Slovenian Newsletter, and at individual level,

throught the promotion of Slovenian culture and commerce

at Leighton House and St. Johns Smith Square (classical

and folk concerts), Liberty (Slovene design and produce)

and at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford (kozolec).

The most effective democracies operate from grass roots

level, encouraging participation from bottom up to bal-

ance the tendency for top down decisions. This exhi-

bition should be regarded as an example of the value of

encouraging grass roots movements throughout Slovene

society.

In a country the size of Slovenia everybody should be en-

couraged to participate - maybe this exhibition can offer

some encouragement.

Michael Betts, 1994

FRONT COVER

Vigil in front of the Yugoslav Embassy in London on

30 June 1991. Photo: Miha Dobrin, 1991


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The authors wish to express our gratitude to the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia (Slovenian National Archives) and to

its Director Dr Matevz Kosir for their support throughout our work with the exhibition and accompanying documentation

Text

Jana Valencic, Dr. Marko Hawlina, Dr. Zvezdan Pirtosek, Michael Betts

Photography

Miha Dobrin, Vesna Azadi, Jana Valencic, Tomaz Rudolf, Janez Kovic, archive SCC/SNL

Published by

The Slovenian Newsletter London, and

Intitut za kulturne stike / Institute for Cultural Connections, Portoroz

Sponsor Eka Valencic

Ljubljana 2008

Exhibition Catalogue by Jana Valencic and Miha Dobrin

Grass-roots Activities for Slovenian Independence:The Slovenian Crisis Centre and the Slovenian Newsletter


Photo:MihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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2

Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia is be-

ing bombed... Television studios are under attack...

Airports bombed ... Border crossings closed... On

the highway, a line of lorries with foreign drivers

was machine-gunned from the airplanes. Other

cities bombed... Yugoslav air force machine-gun-

ning anything in sight... Dr.Marko Hawlina called

for action: High time for civil society to respond!

Demonstrations in support of Slovenia will be at

Trafalgar Square on Sunday 7 July... Yugoslav

soldiers are deserting from the army and givingthemselves up to the Slovenian Territorial Army...

Massive protests in aid of Slovenia all around the

world... Niki Kortvelyessy, Green Party interna-

tional coordinator will help set up the interviews...

Make placards, big and with bold lettering Yugo-

slav tanks out of Slovenia... Breakdown of peace

and order in Ljubljana...

From Slovenia, my 83 years old father phoned

crying: It is my third war, I am sitting on my suit-

case prepared to flee before bombs, again In

London, I could hear the wailing of sirens in the

background.

On that day, architects and medical doctors, writ-

ers and theatre producers, students, au-pairs, reti-

rees and business people from across the Slovenian

community in London, and their British spouses,

turned activists. The grass-roots action in support of

our homeland was born (jv1994).

28 June 1991

(eye witness account) In the early morninghours the Yugoslav Army attacked Slovenia.

The first war on European soil after the end of

the WWII sent a shock wave and immediately

echoed in the British media. We, Slovenian ex-

pats in London, instantly heard about the ag-

gression from our families, friends and contacts

back home. The news travelled with the speed

of light, often widely exaggerated, as we would

establish later, but originating from people we

cared about and who were fearful:

Slovenia at War, front page of the Independenton 28 June 1991

VI


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CollectedbyDr.M

arkoHawlina,1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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Exhibition Catalogueby Jana Valencic and Miha Dobrin

XXII

Catalogue designJana Valencic (cover and texts)Miha Dobrin (images)

PhotographyMiha Dobrin, Vesna Azadi, Jana Valencic, TomazRudolf, Janez Kovic, archive SCC/SNL

TextJana Valencic, Dr Marko Hawlina, Dr Zvezdan Pir-tosek, Michael Betts

EditingJana Valencic

ProofreadingSNL

ProductionMatej Petek, Galdesign

Published byThe Slovenian Newsletter London andIntitut za kulturne stike/

Institute for Cultural Connections, PortorozLjubljana 2006, revised 2008.Reissued in CD format for the mounting of the exhi-

bition at the House of Commons, UK.

Sponsored by Eka Valencic

The exhibition Slovenians in London 1991-1994,Grass-roots Activities for Slovenian Independence,was originally mounted in 1994 from the archives ofthe London based Slovenian Crisis Centre action groupand the Slovenian Newsletter. It was remounted to atravelling format in 2006 by the Slovenian National Ar-

chives to mark the donation of the SCC/SNL archivesto their collection.

Grass-roots Activities for Slovenian Independence:The Slovenian Crisis Centre and the Slovenian Newsletter


CIP - Kataloni zapis o publikacijiNarodna in univerzitetna knjinica, Ljubljana

314.743(410.111=163.6)1991/1994(064)

VALENI, JanaSlovenians in London 1991-1994 : grass-roots activities for Slovenianindependence : The Slovenian Crisis Centre and the SlovenianNewsletter / exhibition catalogue by Jana Valencic and Miha Dobrin; with contributions from Marko Hawlina, Zvezdan Pirtosek, MichaelBetts ; photography Miha Dobrin ... [et al.]. - Portoro : Intitut zakulturne stike = Institute for Cultural Connections ; London : TheSlovenian Newsletter, 2006

ISBN-10 961-90862-1-X (Intitut za kulturne stike)ISBN-13 978-961-90862-1-6 (Intitut za kulturne stike)

1. Dobrin, Miha229154304

Credits of 1994 exhibition Slovenians in London

1991-1994: Grass-roots Activities for Slovenian

Independence

The exhibition is based on the archive material of the

London-based Slovenian Crisis Centre action group and

the Slovenian Newsletter. It was first shown in December

1994 at the World Slovenian Congress Hall in Ljubljana,

accompanied by a catalogue.

The exhibition editorial group included Dr Zvezdan

Pirtosek, Dr Marko Hawlina, Miha Dobrin, Dr Polona

Truden-Dobrin, Polonca Baloh Brown, Nada Rojnik Stone,

Breda Gajsek, Andrew Hartley, Tonci Cerar, Michael Bet-

ts, Jana Valencic, Ifigenija Zagoricnik-Simonovic. Con-

tributors to the first catalogue were Polonca Baloh Brown,

Michael Betts, Tonci Cerar, Frank Devlin, Miha Dobrin,

Breda Gajsek, Dr Marko Hawlina, Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek,

Marianne Plenicar Bailey, Dr Polona Truden, Jana Valen-

cic, Anica Wilkinson. Edited by Jana Valencic.

Material was also contributed by BBC World Service Slo-

venian Section, David Bieda, Monsignor Stane Cikanek,

John Corsellis, Boza Devlin, Gaby and Mike Fellows,

Evald Flisar, Keith and Slava Miles, Valentin Zdravko

Mohar, Dusan Plenicar, Marianne Plenicar Bailey, Joe andMaria Pogatchnik, Al Stone, Veseljko Simonovic, Rajko

Vatovec, Igor Vrabec, Anica Wilkinson and others.

Photographs: Miha Dobrin, Vesna Azadi, Jana Valencic,

SCC/SNL archive

The first mounting in Ljubljana in 1994 was realised with

the support of The Slovenian Newsletter, London, World

Slovenian Congress - Conference for Slovenia and Con-

ference for Great Britain, Slovenian National and Univer-

sity Library (NUK), Ljubljana, the Dusan Cerne Library,

Trieste. It was organised by Helena Drnovsek Zorko, DrIrene Mislej, Marko Zorko

In 2006 the exhibition was remounted and a comprehen-

sive Chronicle of Activities was made possible by the

Slovenian National Archives to mark the donation of the

SCC/SNL archives to the Archive collection. A short exhi-

bition catalogue was published by the Institute for Cultural

Connections, Portoroz.

Exhibition design and A.D

Miha Dobrin, u.d.i.a Mphil (AA)

Exhibition concept and realisation

Jana Valencic, u.d.i.a M.Arch (Toronto)

The Slovenian Newsletter London 1994


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Photo:MihaD

obrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL.


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6

VI

(re-translation) We worked very hard to make thename of Slovenia heard

Anica Wilkinson

The war in Slovenia and subsequent events were of

special significance for the nascent Slovenian state

and her people. Simultaneously, these events were

significant in the life of expatiate individuals, who

away from motherland experienced moments of

anger, worry, and fear but also of hope and expec-

tation. At key moments individuals react in surpris-

ing ways. In London - frantic with aggression onSlovenia we responded with action.

This exhibition on Slovenians in London in 1991-

1994 documents the response of a group of indi-

viduals to the war in Slovenia and its aftermath. It is

neither a comprehensive nor definitive presentation

of many activities which took place in London during

those fateful moments as it is based solely on the

material preserved in the archives of the Slovenian

Crisis Centre action group and the Slovenian News-

letter. Other initiatives in aid of Slovenia which

took place in London during that time but were not

documented in our archives include the Slovenian

Information Office, the World Slovene Congress

Conference for UK, Slovenian Catholic Mission,

and the work of many individuals.

This is simply a testimony of a group of individu-

als with different backgrounds, world views, and

work methods but united in support of Slovenian

independence and her recognition both officially

and amongst the British public, initially hostile to

the break-up of Yugoslavia.

A precursor to these grass-roots initiatives was

the lobbying, pressure and media contact group

under the name of the Committee for the Defence

of Democracy in Yugoslavia. Founded in 1988 in

London by a few UK based Yugoslav intellectu-

als, the Committee lobbied politicians, personali-

ties and organisations interested in developments in

the then Yugoslavia. The Committee included two

Slovenian medical doctors. Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek, a

neurologist, was also connected with non-govern-mental bodies and with the media, whilst Dr Marko

Hawlina, an ophthalmologist, had links with the

older Slovenian political emigration to the UK.

With escalating militarisation in Yugoslavia the two

Slovenians in London 1991-1994Grass-roots Activities for Slovenian Independence:The Slovenian Crisis Centre and the Slovenian Newsletter

Contents

Page P

anelNumber

PanelTitl

e

2 VI Slovenia at War, front page of the Independent on28 June 1991

4 Credits

5 XXII Grass-roots response on the attack on Slovenia.

6 About the Exhibition by Jana Valencic

8 III Demonstration on 19 January in front of the Yugoslav

Embassy in London

10 IV Demonstration on 9 March 1991 at Trafalgar Square

and a petition to the British Prime Minister

12 V Europe of a Hundred Flags,

documents and cuttings

14 VIII Hope against War Machine: Vigil in London

on 30 June 1991

16 VII Slovenian demonstration in front of the Yugoslav

Embassy in London on 30 June 1991

18 XV Attack on Slovenia in British Press and

in the Parliament

20 XI Founding and work of the Slovenian Crisis Centre 22

XII Key meeting of the Slovenian Crisis Centre

on 4 July 1991

24 XVI Expressions of solidarity with Slovenian independence

26 X Organisation of our demonstration

28 XIII Sketch for the New Slovenian Flag

A Toast, Slovenian National Anthem

30 XVIII Our demonstration at Trafalgar Square

on 7 July 1991

32 XVII In aid of Slovenia at Trafalgar Square on 7 July 1991

34 XIX Our printer and Slovenian patriot Dusan Plenicar

36 XX Plenicars Print

38 XXIII Placards and T-shirts in support of

Slovenian independence

40 XXIV Media coverage of our demonstrations

42 XXV Giggly Breda Gajseks vigil in the Evening Standard

44 XXVI Our Breda Gajseks months long vigil

46 XXIX Autumn 1991: bonding of the Slovenian Community

48 XXX Our cultural events in 1991 and 199250 XXVII Petitions and parliamentary lobbying

52 XXVIII British recognition of Slovenian independence

54 XXXII Libertys Putting Slovenia on the Map poster

56 XXXIV Slovenian design at Liberty in April and May 1993

58 XXXV Kozolecs in England in 1993 and 1994

60 XXXVI Assembly of Libertys kozolec in

Pitt Rivers Museum

62 XXXVII The Slovenian Newsletter

64 Chronicle of Grass-Roots Activities for

Slovenian Independence

ON THE INSIDE OF THE COVER - FRONT

A Personal View by Michael Betts

ON THE INSIDE OF THE COVER - BACK

Authors and contributors details


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doctors initiated grass-roots activities among Slove-

nians in London.

In the light of events in Yugoslavia, the Committee

organised a rally in front of the Yugoslav Embassy. It

took place on 30 January 1991, followed, on 9 March

1991 by a demonstration at Trafalgar Square and

the delivery of a petition to 10 Downing Street, the

official residence of the British Prime Minister.

The Slovenian Declaration of Independence on 27 June

1991 triggered an immediate invasion of Slovenian

territory by the then Yugoslav Army. Pictures of tanks

united Slovenian expatriates of different persuasions and

catapulted us into action. The Slovenian Crisis Centre

(SCC), coordinator of media contacts was founded

on 28 June. The samizdat The Slovenian Newsletter

(SNL) was founded on the following day, 29June 1991

as a personal response to British public opinion, which

was generally hostile to the idea of Slovenian Indepen-dence. Everyone responded in the manner in which he

or she felt would be most efficient.

The second rally in front of the Yugoslav Embassy

took place on 30 June 1991. The Crisis Centres

activity was helped by previous contacts established

by the Committee for the Defence of Democracy

in Yugoslavia, and other existing networks. Group

actions included contacts with the media, parliamen-

tary lobbying, organisation of demonstrations and the

bonding of Slovenian community in UK.

Our display of solidarity with Slovenia peaked with a

7 July demonstration at Trafalgar Square and another

petition to Downing Street. Although the war in

Slovenia was short-lived, we feared another Yugoslav

Army intervention in Slovenia. This sense of insecu-

rity was further fuelled by the Foreign Offices advice

against travelling to Slovenia.

With the cessation of military activities in Slovenia

in summer 1991, group impetus started to wane but

some of us wanted to continue in case the situation

worsened again. Another impetus was appeals

from Slovenia, citing devastating damage caused

by the war, economic blockade and the collapse of

tourism. Over the summer of 1991, we identified a

programme of support for Slovenia in the fields of

tourist promotion, business information, charity and

cultural exchange.

In September 1991, regular monthly meetings were

started in the upper room of the Masons Arms pub in

Central London. They aimed to help the communitypreserve its sense of identity awoken by the crisis and

bond the older, political emigration with the younger

generation of economic migrants. These meetings

were the forerunner of the British-Slovenian Society.

Part of the community turned to relief initiatives

for refugees in Slovenia whilst the SCC focused on

fundraising to clear its debts, petitioning and parlia-

mentary lobbying for British recognition of Slovenia.

The lobbying of British parliamentarians led to the

formation of a group of Slovenia-friendly MPs and

subsequently to the establishment of the All Party

Group for Slovenia in the British Parliament, which

was founded in June 1992.

With the international recognition of Slovenian in-

dependence in the beginning of 1992 and the estab-

lishment of the Slovenian Embassy in Great Britain,

group activities waned. Political activism was super-

seded by cultural and community events, and image

building campaigns aimed at educating the British

public about Slovenia. Others decided to help the

war-affected areas of former Yugoslavia.

These activities are documented in the papers of theSlovenian Crisis Centre and material gathered by the

Slovenian Newsletter as the chronicler of the events.

The documents were first mounted in the exhibition

Slovenians in London 1991-1994 in December 1994

at the premises of the World Slovenian Congress in

Ljubljana, later shown in other venues in Slovenia and

amongst the Slovenian minority in Italy. In 2006, the

exhibition was remounted and a Chronicle of the Events

published to mark the donation of the SCC/SNL archive

to the Slovenian National Archives in Ljubljana.

The exhibition in its travelling format and this

catalogue show fewer panels than the original ex-

hibition and the chapter entitled Exhibition of the

Chronicle. The Roman numbers, shown in this

catalogue alongside the description of each panel,

refer to the original display. Another departure from

the original is that this edition of the catalogue is in

black and white whereas in the original, images are

in colour.

At this point I would like to thank everyone who

selflessly helped me with the production of this

catalogue. In particular I am indebted to the architect

and photographer Miha Dobrin for his photographs

which convey the emotional charge of those times

and for the design of this exhibition which we can all

be proud of. My deepest gratitude goes to Dr Marko

Hawlina, Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek and Michael Betts for

their wise comments. Above all, I would like to thank

the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia (Slovenian

National Archives) and to its director Dr Matevz

Kosir for their support throughout the preparation of

the Chronicle and the remounting of the exhibition.Finally I wish to record my gratitude to Eka Valencic

of the Institute for Cultural Connectiones for pub-

lishing this catalogue.

Jana Valencic, 2006

VI


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9 March 1991 demonstration at Trafalgar Square anddelivery of a petition to the British Prime Minister

IV

Dr Marko Hawlina was one of the founding members

of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy in

Yugoslavia, initially a lobbying, pressure and media

contact group. It was initiated in the late 1980s by a

group of London residing intellectuals from various

parts of Yugoslavia.

In Dr Hawlinas words: As the Yugoslav Federal Army became openly pro-Serbian in Croatia and

Kosovo we started to take more determined politicalactions. The Committee held regular meetings at dif-

ferent parts of London. We spent countless evenings

brainstorming with (Dr) Zvezdan Pirtosek at a Chi-nese restaurant at Charing Cross (a street in Cen-

tral London) and many discussions at (Dr) DragoStambuks home (Dr Stambuk subsequently becamethe Croatian ambassador in UK, India and Japan).

Drago was an infectologist working with AIDS pa-

tients in one of Londons hospitals, a poet and a sen-

sitive patriot. Other members were (Dr) RamadanBerisha, also a medical doctor representing Kosovo

and Branka Magas, a refined and clear-minded Cro-

atian lady and the only non-medical member of thecore committee.

We sensed then what would happen. We all had this

apocalyptic vision of the future, which became real,

only in much more cruel ways than any of us couldhave predicted. The military might of the Federal

Army was waiting to be unleashed. At the Committee

we felt an urge to access important people and Brit-ish political parties.

We told them that what seemed to be skirmishes and

nationalist provocations were just the beginnings of a

catastrophe. In our view, the European Union shouldhave been giving a clear message to Slobodan Milos-

evic not to use the Federal Army against other Yugo-

slav nations thus preventing the war. We wrote lettersto MPs, political parties, we informed the media and

civil society, we wrote letters to the newspapers butnobody really listened. Nobody really cared - untilthat June when Slovenia was attacked and the army

machinery was set on its evil way (mh2006).

As the Yugoslav Federal army, though formally

impartial, started to side with Milosevics Serbia,

the London based Committee for the Defenceof Democracy in Yugoslavia geared up for ac-

tion. Their first mass manifestations were the

demonstrations on 19 January 1991 in front of

the Yugoslav Embassy in London and a letter to

the editor in the Guardian on 6 February 1991.

Their second demonstration on 9 March at Tra-

falgar Square was followed by the delivery of a

petition to the British Prime Minister.


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Photo:VesnaAzadi,1991,andArchiveSNL(authorunknown),1991.

Source:dr.MarkoHawlinaandArchiveSNL

.


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12

Europe of a Hundred Flags: documents and cuttingsrelated to 9 March 1991 demonstrations

V

On 11 March 1991 the leading Slovenian daily pa-

per Delo published the article Europe of a Hundred

Flags reporting on the pro-democracy demonstra-

tion at Trafalgar Square on 9 March 1991 which was

organized by the Committee for the Defence of De-

mocracy in Yugoslavia. The report by Delos London

correspondent Alja Kosak analysed the incident in the

Slovenian community over the Slovene flag. From

this experience we all learned the value of tolerance

and acceptance of our differences if Slovenia were to

pull together.

As Dr Marko Hawlina, one of the organizers of that

rally recollects, Indeed, the story about theseflagswas tragic-comical. So manyflags in Europe andnoflag of our own (or rather, twoflags too many)!Theflag of the Yugoslav republic of Slovenia hadthree colours, from the top white, blue and red, witha big redfive-pointed star in the middle. In March1991 it still counted as the official Slovenianflag.Understandably, our post -WWII emigrants neveraccepted the red-starredflag. Their Slovenianflag

from before WWII had a plain tricolour design (as

todays Russianflag).As the Slovenian Catholic priest in London learnedthat there would be many red starred-flags at thedemonstration he was reportedly so upset - under-

standably from his generations traumatic experi-ences- that he discouraged his followers from at-tending the rally and refused to march behind thered-starredflag.Many Slovenes disappointedly stayed at home whilstthe more open-minded came carrying the Russianflag. In a letter to the priest we tried to explain thatthese were new times, and as Zvezdan (Dr Pirtosek)

said in his speech at the demonstration: Europeshould be a territory of a hundredflags. And wesaid to the people: please come with anyflag youwish but do come and say that you care about the

future, not the past (mh2006).

Simultaneously with Slovenia gaining her independ-

ence from the increasingly volatile Yugoslav Fed-

eration, another tectonic shift was occurring, albeitwithin a Slovenian nation ideologically split since

the Second World War. The generation that had

to flee from the Yugoslav regime was fiercely anti-

communist, deeply Catholic and demonstratively

patriotic. To the liberal generations that grew up

under Titos dictum Brotherhood and Unity, with

his denouncement of every manifestation of national

identity as deplorable chauvinism, any demon-

stration of patriotic feelings was distasteful. It took

the ultimate threat of the destruction of Slovenia for

the two factions to find common ground.


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Source:ArchiveSN

L


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14

It was not an easy time to be a Slovenian. On 3 July,

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, DouglasHurd said in Parliament: The position in Yugo-

slavia remains dangerous. This morning events in

Slovenia and Croatia were escalating out of control,

and the army is no longer under the effective con-

trol of the political authorities. A large number of

armoured vehicles left Belgrade early this morning,

moving towards Croatia and Slovenia. There can be

little doubt that the Yugoslav army are intent on

further military missions against Slovenia. This ac-

tion disregards international opinion and overturns

the ceasefire agreement negotiated over the week-end by the two EC troika missions

We could not passively accept the destruction of our

country. The Yugoslav army attack on Slovenia be-

came every London Slovenians personal war. They

were in the wrong. We were right.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE. Our lawyers have clari-

fied the Yugoslav Ambassadors mis-interpretation

of the Yugoslav constitution. The agreement required

is not whether or not to secede but HOW to secede.

Slovenians are acting lawfully. The Federal Govern-

ment is acting unlawfully. The army is out of control

(The Slovenian Newsletter No.2, 3 July 1991, p.3).

And on the same page: We must unite to present a

single strong voice for Slovenia. And also: Vigil

in front of the Yugoslav Embassy is every day from

10 am to 7 pm. For more information please contact

Breda Gajsek, telephone

Some of us wrote to the FCO (British Foreign Min-

istry). The answers were polite and polished but

non-committing, some blurb about the EC. Our only

chance was to appeal to British public opinion.

Vigil in front of the Yugoslav Embassy in Londonon 30 June 1991

Overnight, Slovenia was at war. A tiny republic,

in size and population akin to Wales, was at-

tacked by the fourth biggest army in Europe.The international community was aghast. It was

impotent. Moreover, countries like Britain resist-

ed the idea of the break up of Yugoslavia. But the

more pragmatic politicians offered hope: The

time has passed when you could keep a country

together by shooting its citizens (Douglas Hurd,

British Foreign Secretary, interviewed on BBC 1

On the Record on 30 June 1991). I made the note

of it with tears in my eyes.

VIII


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Photo:MihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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18

Attack on Slovenia in the British press:articles and letters

XV

Some of the key spokesmen on Slovenia in UK

were Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek and Dr Marko Hawlina.

Through their Committee for the Defence of De-

mocracy in Yugoslavia they had established con-

tacts with political and academic communities, and

the media. However, as Dr Pirtosek recollects, The

British media had an appallingly bad grasp of the

situation in Yugoslavia.

The impotence of the European Union however was

clear. A cartoon published in the Independent on 1

July 1991 featured a cattle-truck with Yugoslavia

written on it, loaded with peasants. Two of them,

identified as Slovenia and Croatia had escaped

but were caught and beaten by a giant Serbiawhilst a character in a business suit and clutching a

bag embossed with EU crest was of looking at the

scene with bewilderment.

The battle for British public opinion was fought

through the pages of Letters to the Editor. Three

days into the war the Guardian published Dr Pir-

toseks rhetorical question to the British Prime

Minister: (For Slovenia) to become independent is

not a secessionist decision for politicians, it is the

will of nearly 90 per cent of the people. Would you,

Mr. Major, ignore such a result in your country?

Three days later Dr Marko Hawlina wrote in the

Independent: Is it possible that in 1991 in the mid-

dle of Europe, people must die to prove that their

nation deserves the basic right of self-determina-

tion?

Dr Hawlina shared the page with letters by a

Slovenian academic; a group of Slovenian writers

emphasising that Slovenia was at war with the Yu-

goslav Army and expressed sympathy with ordinary

soldiers; a Ukrainian expat calling on EU govern-

ments to re-evaluate their insistence on territorial

integrity; and a plea from Ghana to Europe not toallow Slovenia to be overrun by Balkan Stalinists.

But there were also letters, articles, broadcasts and

debates with dramatically different views.

The British media immediately seized upon the

newsworthiness of the first war on European soil

since WWII. Before the era of rolling news andthe Internet, our sources of information were,

apart from messages from Slovenia, regular

radio and television broadcasts - some at very

early hours - and the newspapers. Compre-

hensive clipping by Dr Marko Hawlina, Anica

Wilkinson, the Hartley family and others helped

us to trace the shifting British view on the Yugo-

slav crisis.


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Source:ArchiveS

NL


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20

The Slovenian Crisis Centre

XI

As Polonca Baloh Brown, the theatre producer

in whose living room in North London the Crisis

Centre was founded, wrote: Our instinctive re-

sponse was that we must do something to informthe public on the background of the situation, about

which nothing was known and to which the Brit-

ish government responded with view of supporting

status quo One of our major aims was to collect

information from hour to hour and to disseminate it

to any public individual or media organisation we

could contact. The urgent need was to balance per-

ceptions of recent Yugoslav history and the position

of Slovenia in it, resulting in its independence.

The response was extraordinary, with TV crews

disrupting the quiet suburban area we lived in,wrote Polonca Baloh Brown, whilst more and

more Slovenes came to the house offering help,

information and ideas. On 4 or 5 July, Polonca

Truden Dobrin, a medical doctor and Miha Dobrin,

an architect, found a vacant office above Adria Air-

ways in Central London where the Crisis Centre

then resided until February 1992.

As recorded in the SCC papers, members of the

Slovenian community instantly turned into media

figures. Not only Dr. Zvezdan Pirtosek, who recol-

lects both himself and Evald Flisar appearing on

various channels (BBC, Sky, ITN, TVam), but alsoa nurse, a translator and an office executive were all

interviewed by British media.

6 July: Boza Devlin will be today at 6 pm on ITV.

Breda Wilkinson was there yesterday, where is she

today? - Gaby Fellows is today on Breakfast AM,

Dr Pirtosek on TVam. - Slovenian Saturday School

was shown on TV. - Polona (Baloh Brown) and Jana

(Valencic) are having a radio interview with Angela

Rippon

On the day of our demonstration 7 July 1991, the

EU brokered moratorium pushed Slovenia off themain news. The media appetite for Slovenian ama-

teur spokespersons diminished but not the need to

keep Slovenia on the British agenda.

On 28 June, on the day of the Yugoslav Army at-

tack on Slovenia, a group of three met in North

London. A theatre producer, a writer and a med-ical doctor felt that in view of British leaders and

the general publics hostility to the idea of Slov-

enian secession it was paramount to receive and

forward the information about the real situation

in Slovenia, leading to traumatic and sleepless

weeks (Polonca Baloh Brown).

Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek on British television (TVam)in the first days of the war in Slovenia (Still from a

video clip. Source: Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek 1991, and

Archive SNL)


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Photo:MihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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22

A key meeting of the Slovenian Crisis Centreon 4 July 1991

XII

1- Evald Flisar, 2- Nadja Rojnik Stone, 3- Polona Truden Dobrin,4-Jana Valencic, 5- dr. Zvezdan Pirtosek, 6- dr. Marko Hawlina,7- Andrew Hartley, 8- Nataa Kormanic, 9- Christopher Long.

Photo: Miha Dobrin

Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek, one of the founders of the

SCC observed late in 1991: One of the great val-

ues of such grass-roots movements (as the Crisis

Centre with all its subdivisions was) is their spon-taneity and freedom, expressed through democratic

and non-institutionalised structure, the gratuitous

origin and unforced, logical disappearance; and

above all, independent, honest and highly motivated

spirit of people who are brought together by com-

mon concern,

The 4 July 1991 meeting is one of the few minuted

Crisis Centre gatherings, by Nadja Rojnik Stone. As

not many records of Crisis Centre day-to day man-

agement have been preserved this meeting can serve

as an insight to its decision making processes.Opinions vary as to what the SCC was, who be-

longed to it and when it was dissolved. It was

not an organisation; it had no formal leaders, no

membership, no long-term programme and very

few scheduled meetings. The changing core group

reflected different initiatives, which attracted differ-

ent participants.

Initially focused on media briefing, it soon evolved

into a fluid concept around which ideas and people

rallied. It remained as such long after the majority

withdrew. The most reliable evidence of its work-

ings are financial records but they exclude all initia-tives which didnt come with a bill or an invoice and

of which there were many - such as Our Bredas

vigil documented elsewhere.

The Crisis Centre had a wide orbit and some activi-

ties were co-ordinated from elsewhere, from offices

as well as living rooms. The seat of the Newsletter

and of the Demonstration Organising Committee

was at Jana Valencics Russell Court flat, whilst

for a period, much of the networking, lobbying and

masterminding was done from Dr Hawlinas and Dr

Pirtoseks hospitals.

Key operational decisions for the organisation

of the demonstrations were discussed and de-

cided at this meeting in a private house in WestLondon on the evening of 4 July 1991. They in-

cluded a briefing on press contacts, slogans to be

printed on placards, security and coordination

of stewards, sale of merchandise, and assistance

to Slovenes stranded in London.

Linedrawing:JanaValencic.Source:ArchiveSNL


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Photo:MihaDobrin,

1991.Source:ArchiveSNL


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24

Expressions of support for Slovenia

XVI

Regrettably few records have been saved, consider-

ing the relevance of the Committee for subsequent

grass-roots initiatives - lost in the tempest of times

(Dr Zvezdan Pirtosek). We were able, however, toidentify support from the Welsh National Party in

the run-up to the 9 March 1991 and later from the

Scottish National Party.

Considerable support was offered by the British

Green Partys spokesperson on foreign affairs, both

before and after secession. She co-ordinated media

contacts, set up parliamentary links and organised

letters of protest to the Yugoslav Ambassador. Dr

Pirtoek was also involved in setting up an organi-

sation of stateless nations to parallel the United Na-

tions. At the 7th July Trafalgar Square demonstra-tions their representatives such as Sikhs and Kurd-

ish offered support. The Office of Tibet sent a letter

supporting Slovenia through the Greens.

The attitude of the three big parliamentary parties

varied. Liberal Democrats and their Leader Paddy

Ashdown were supportive. Sir Russell Johnston,

Lib Dem PM and their spokesman on foreign af-

fairs demonstrated a touching concern for Slovenia.

The Conservative Party was cautiously sympathetic

apart from the extremely friendly William Powell

MP for Corby. The British Left however had most

difficulties with Slovenian secession although someMPs showed individual support.

Interest in Slovenia was shown by individual digni-

taries such as the retired Archbishop of Canterbury

Lord Robert Runcie who had been a tank command-

er during the WWII and in 1946 a member of the

Italo-Yugoslav Border Commission. Another event

in mid-July 1991 was Crown-Prince Alexander of

Yugoslavias invitation to Dr Hawlina and Dr Pir-

tosek to talk about the future of Yugoslav nations

and democracy.

The foundations of Crisis Centre lobbying were

set previously by the Committee for the Defence

of Democracy inYugoslavia which existed fromthe late 1980s until the war in Slovenia. Their

previous contacts, with parliamentary and

non-parliamentary parties, non-governmental

organisations and various interest groups, were

called upon to rally support for independence

for Slovenia.


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Photo:MihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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26

Organisation of 7 July Trafalgar Square 1991Slovenian demonstration

X

By the morning of Monday, 1 July 1991, grass-roots

activities were in top gear. (Excerpts) Took unpaid

leave from work.. Every hour more notices, phone

numbers, reminders, letters were pasted on the wall. In the Parliament we visited Daffydd Wigley, the

Leader of the Welsh National Party and Margaret

Ewing, MP for the Scottish National Party. Booked

loudspeakers for the press conference. Designing

posters for Plenicar to print. The Browns house re-

porting to be inundated with messages and media

requests. At the Newsletter we will print T-shirts and

badges tofinance the organisation. Calling around

we feel London is with us people are stunned by

pictures of tanks. For our T-shirts we got the best

deal in town. Put a paid-for ad in the papers an-nouncing our demonstration. The Guardian was

already full, The Times accepted. Opened a bank

account at my local Lloyds. Called representatives

of thefive Slovenian companies for a suggested do-

nation of 200 to 300. One refused whilst Mr Fux

of Adria Airways offered more: Write on the re-

ceipt for publicity. Who is dealing with the peti-

tion? Polytechnic of Central London Student Union

offered help with the sale of merchandise, pasting

posters, stewarding the demonstration. Polona

Truden Dobrins been organising the demonstration

permit. Zvezdans compiling the list of speakersHundreds of phone calls. Andrew Hartley, married

to a Slovenian wants to organise a petition. Well

need some cellular phones (this was before mo-

biles). 1000 badges, 100 T-shirts and 500 placards

ordered. 1200 badges delivered, the excess 200 are

their contribution to our cause. How many poles

should we buy? Who is collecting the placards? The

EU is divided down the middle over Slovenian inde-

pendence (jv1991).(A full version of this recollection (in Slovenian) is found in theChronicle, 2006, pp.86-123)

The 7 July Trafalgar Square Slovenian demon-

stration was initiated immediately after the Yu-

goslav Army attack on Slovenia on 28 June. Theorganisation, which ran in parallel with other

initiatives such as media briefing and lobbying,

was a test in endurance and lack of sleep. Apart

from paperwork, lining up the speakers, and lo-

gistics, it had to deal with very pragmatic issues

offinding money to finance the event, a crash-

course in fundraising.


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Source

:ArchiveSNL


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28

Slovenians are not a flag waving nation and certain-

ly the younger generation of liberal intellectuals that

at that time inspired the grass-roots movement in

London would in normal times subscribe to patri-otism-lite. Slovenian ex-pats rarely seek the com-

pany of compatriots, never drape themselves in the

national flag and perform the National Anthem very

sparingly albeit the Slovenian National Anthem is

one of a kind. It is a toast:

Gods blessing on all nations

Who long and work for that bright day

When oer earths habitations

No war, no strife shall hold its sway

Who long to see

That all men freeNo more shall foes, but neighbours be!*

Most Slovenes of that liberal generation considered

nationalism distasteful. It took a crisis of tectonic

proportions to press us Slovenes into publicly dem-

onstrating our sense of national identity - momen-

tarily - and rally behind the flag.

With the June 91 war, the flag of the Yugoslav repub-

lic of Slovenia no longer represented the symbol of

the nation. In the run up to the proclamation of inde-

pendence, a new flag had been chosen. It was com-

mercially produced and available at the secession inLjubljana but not in London. For our demonstration

at Trafalgar Square we had to make it.

The first documented hand made flag in London

was sewn by the Hartley family, with the little stars,

Mount Triglav and sea waves in the crest, cut out of

gold coloured paper, and attached with glue. It has

since been deposited within the Slovenian National

Archive.

Sketch for the new Slovenian flag by Miha Dobrin

The old Slovenian flag became redundant with

the proclamation of independence whilst none of

the new design was available in London. In thevery first days of the crisis Miha Dobrin made

this sketch for the new Slovenian flag based on a

fax from Ljubljana. He also drafted a cut for the

new flag, which was reprinted in the 2nd issue of

the Slovenian Newsletter on 3 July 1991, to en-

courage the community to make the new flag.

XIII

The Slovenian National Anthem A ToastThe vintage, friends, is over,

And here sweet wine makes, once again,Sad eyes and hearts recover,Puts fire into every vein.Drowns dull careEverywhereAnd summons hope out of despair.

To whom with acclamationAnd song shall we ourfirst toast give?God save our land and nationAnd all Slovenes whereer they live,Who own the sameBlood and name,And who one glorious Mother claim.

Let thunder out of heavenStrike down and smite our wanton foe!

Now, as it once had thriven,May our dear realm in freedom grow.May fall the lastChains of the pastWhich bind us still and hold us fast!

Let peace, glad conciliation,Come back to us throughout the land!Towards their destinationLet Slavs henceforth go hand-in-hand!Thus againWill honour reign

To justice pledged in our domain.

To you, our pride past measure,Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!There surely is no treasureTo equal maidens of such race.Sons youll bear,Who will dareDefy our foe no matter where.

Our hope now, our to-morrow -The youths - we toast and toast with joy.

No poisonous blight or sorrowYour love of homeland shall destroy.

With us indeedYoure called to heedIts summons in this hour of need.

Gods blessing on all nations,Who long and work for that bright day,When oer earths habitationsNo war, no strife shall hold its sway;Who long to seeThat all men freeNo more shall foes, but neighbours be.

At last to our reunion -To us the toast! Let it resound,Since in this gay communion

By thoughts of brotherhood were boundMay joyful cheer

Neer disappearFrom all good hearts now gathered here.

*The Slovenian National Anthem, originally A Toast (1844)Lyrics by Dr France Preseren (1800-1849)

Set to music by Stanko Premrl in 1905Declared the Slovenian National Anthem (Stanza 7) in Sep-tember 1989Translated by Janko Lavrin


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thor:MihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSN

L


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30

It was a sunny Sunday, the pinnacle of a frantic

week-long effort to rally support for Slovenia and to

organise this demonstration. As a white sheet with

big letters written on it: Against aggression and forself-determination was being fixed to the base of

Nelsons Column, a group of Croats gate-crashed

our demonstration or so we felt, having done all

the preparatory work ourselves. They brought to the

podium an even longer piece of fabric with bigger

and bolder letters than those on our banner, and oth-

ers climbed up with Croatian flags.

Speakers included Sir Russell Johnston, Deputy

Leader and Spokesman on Europe for the Liberal

Democrat Party, the first British politician to have

backed independent Slovenia; maverick Labour MPKen Livingstone, one of the few Left politicians at

the time to support Slovenian secession; Niki Ko-

rtvelyessy, the fairy godmother of Slovenian grass-

roots action represented the Green Party. Then our

own Dr.Marko Hawlina followed by the National

Anthem plus an unscheduled but moving address by

a Slovenian government minister.

There were also representatives of would-be nations

and some groups, unknown to most of us. Then

letters of support received from the President of

Lithuania; Paddy Ashdown, leader of the Liberal-

Democratic Party; Vice Chairman of the Conserva-tive Party; The Scottish National Party; the Office of

Tibet; and Keith Miles, a Slovenian by marriage,

the Honorary Secretary of the Slovenian Repre-

sentative Office, the unofficial Slovenian Embassy

located in the office of Gorenje, a Slovenian white

goods maker.

At the end, the petition to John Major, the Prime

Minister was read and we walked to Downing Street

to deliver it.

Trafalgar Square on 7 July 1991

The event is covered extensively by photographs

and a list of speakers exists but not much in

term of written records, just memories, vaguethrough exhaustion. For onlookers it would look

like another Trafalgar Square rally, another

sequence of speakers, applauses, readings, and

a National Anthem. For us it felt different. We

had a new flag, a new National Anthem (albeit

upgraded from a Toast), a new identity and a

brand new state.

XVIII


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Photo:MihaDo

brin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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32

As an Englishman married to a Slovene my response

to the demonstration against Slobodan Milosevics

tactics towards minorities in Yugoslavia could be

regarded as being a little more objective than mostSlovenes during that emotional time. I was aware of

the developments that lead up to Slovene secession

and particularly aware of the motives behind Milose-

vics nationalist politics. His aggressive behaviour in

stirring up hatred against Albanians in Kosovo was

repulsive to my liberal outlook I felt that I could

understand some of the anxiety felt by Slovenes at the

time and I therefore eagerly participated in the events

in Trafalgar Square.

The atmosphere was full of energy and camaraderie

and had that sense of solidarity that must have givenSlovenes terrific encouragement. There were banners

and the new Sloveneflag but little evidence of over-

zealous nationalism more a celebration of Slovene

patriotism at another challenging time in that re-

gions history. Trafalgar Square that afternoon was a

colourful and excited place. Looking into the crowd

of several hundred assembled below Nelsons Col-

umn I saw drawn together an eclectic collection the

older generation of Slovenes who had been through

similar situations before; younger Slovenes for whom

this was unknown territory: even a group of onlook-

ers dressed as Chetniks, apparentlyflown in the daybefore from Belgrade to heckle the speakers.

Standing to one side on the podium next to those

stone lions I felt admiration for those people who had

channelled their strength of feeling into such a well-

organised and peaceful event visible evidence of the

ability of people to get together at grassroots level

and produce effective results (mb2006).

Trafalgar Square, July 1991 an English point of view

XVII

The 7 July Trafalgar Square demonstration at-

tracted an eclectic crowd of UK based Slovenians

as well as those stranded in London by the closureof the Yugoslav borders. There were British family

and friends of Slovenians and also people express-

ing sympathy for the country at war and others

in solidarity, themselves belonging to stateless na-

tions. Michael Betts remembers:


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Photo:MihaDob

rin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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34

The Crisis Centre was set up by a group of young

intellectuals, but immediately it became a focus for

the Slovenian community at large. One of our most

dedicated supporters was the printer, Slovenian pa-triot and devout Christian Dusan Plenicar, a mem-

ber of the older emigration of political refugees

who fled to the UK after the Second World War.

Plenicar, a widely respected democrat and anti-

communist had been politically active all of his

life and to disseminate his ideas and views, made

a living by running a commercial printing shop in

Enfield, North London.

Although most of the Crisis Centre group belonged

to a different generation and often had a different

world view from his own, Plenicar was impressedby our enthusiasm to help the homeland. He offered

to print all of our promotional material including

leaflets, placards and the Newsletter for free. On the

picture above he is featured during our demonstra-

tion at Trafalgar Square and holding a copy of the

Newsletter No.3. The blueprint for it was delivered

to him the previous day (he came by bicycle to meet

us at Enfield train station) and both he and his wife

Elisabeth printed all through the night to deliver it

on the morning of the demonstration. On another

picture, he is seen surrounded by his placards in

vivid colours.Plenicar was a candle burning at both ends for his

beloved Slovenia and he died of overwork in De-

cember 1992. To celebrate his memory, we donated

an artwork to Westminster Cathedral and dedicated

to him our exhibition on Slovenes in London, which

we mounted in 1994 in Ljubljana.

The Crisis Centre benefactor, printer and Slov-

enian patriot Dusan Plenicar arrived at the

Slovenian demonstration at Trafalgar Square on7 July 1991 after a sleepless night which he spent

printing, with his wife Elisabeth, the two thou-

sand copies of the Newsletter issue No.3, one of

which he is featured holding in his hand.

Our printer Dusan Plenicar at Trafalgar Squareon 7 July 1991

XIX


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Photo:M

ihaDobrin,

1991.

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36

One of the Crisis Centres most enduring visual

legacies is the printed material, be it posters, plac-

ards or handouts, printed in striking colours, as well

as early issues of the Newsletter, all designed and produced professionally by Dusan Plenicar. As

a seasoned political migr, he was aware of the

power of the written word. He immediately agreed

to help the Crisis Centre by printing professionally

whatever was needed, for free.

The wording sent to him from the Crisis Centre

originated from various sources and were sent to

print without questioning their precise significance.

Time was a luxury. A young Cambridge based

business correspondent, for example, sent to the

Centre a fax with an appeal against the humiliationof Slovenia and for free enterprise. Although free

enterprise was not an issue for the Crisis Centre,

the text was printed at the back of one of the peti-

tions and sent around the country. Similarly, a flyer

with the date and the venue of the demonstration

included the committee worded demand for basic

human rights, FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY. It

was printed in several thousand copies, by Plenicar

on paper in two shades of green, remnants from his

commercial contracts.

Plenicars most striking contribution to the Crisis

Centres visual imagery were his placards for theTrafalgar Square demonstrations. The slogans were

agreed by the core of the Crisis Centre at the 4 July

meeting and included Two Million United People

Cannot Be Wrong, Keep Slovenia Free, and for

some reason Thank You Britain. Plenicar designed

and printed them in bold black letters on Day-glo

paper in yellow, red and bright green.

Although the Slovenian Crisis Centre was a tiny

and penniless group it stood out with its colour-

ful printed material, which - after the CrisisCentre instructions - was executed, printed and

sponsored by the elderly Slovenian migr, dis-

tinguished campaigner for democracy and pro-

fessional printer Dusan Plenicar.

Plenicars print for theSlovenian Crisis Centre

XX


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Author:DusanPlenicar,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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38

From the improvised podium at the base of Nelsons

Column - which was in any sense a big step for sud-

den would-be Slovenian revolutionaries - the

crowd below seemed topped by a froth of red col-oured placards. There were a few yellow ones and a

few green ones, the random result of Mr Plenicars

leftover stock. Reprinted with bold black lettering

were the slogans, agreed by the Crisis Centre at the

4 July meeting: 2 million united people CANNOT

BE WRONG. FREE Slovenia NOW. Squeezed

into Slovenia between the letters V and E was the

shape of a leaf of a lime tree, a symbol of Slovenia

and at the time her tourist promotion logo.

From this wall of front of red-yellow-green plac-

ards the handmade ones stood out. Some of themwere supporting Croatia but most were in aid of

Slovenia. A large one proclaimed in carefully hand-

drawn letters Slovenias Independence is Legal.

It was carried by a middle aged woman of sober

appearance, a very unlikely demonstrator in normal

circumstances. Another one announcing Slovenia

voted YES for independence - the word Slovenia

again decorated with a lime tree leaf traced from

a tourist brochure - looked worn, having survived

from the 9 March demonstration, also at Trafalgar

Square. The placard was held upright by another

middle-aged woman, this time dressed in the fullregalia of Slovenian national costume.

Younger demonstrators were wearing T-shirts

FREE Slovenia NOW, again with the lime tree

leaf, and a matching badge. Both were fund-raising

merchandise, produced and sold by the Crisis Cen-

tre at the demonstration in anticipation of invoices

to cover the cost of the organisation.

Placards and T-shirts at Trafalgar Squareon 7 July 1991

More than any other grass-roots action in sup-

port of Slovenian independence in London, the

Trafalgar Square demonstration on 7 July 1991was a novel experience for most of the partici-

pants. Slovenians very seldom display patriotic

sentiments. Or was it because based on anecdo-

tal evidence some of the most overtly patriotic

Slovenians were the British husbands of Slov-

enian women (not an opinion shared by all).

XXIII


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Photo:MihaDobrin,1

991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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40

Unexpectedly, a bespectacled lady was led to the

podium by a Times journalist and introduced as the

Slovenian government Minister for Energy in Lon-

don on some mission. We seized the opportunity toadd some official Slovenian flavour to the list of

speakers. We drafted a few lines and handed her this

speech. She read it. She sobbed. We sobbed listen-

ing to her. Long applause. Someone escorted her to

her hotel and we went on with the demonstration.

On the side of the podium, a small group waving

Serbian flags loudly protested, distributed leaflets

and looked frightening. Later we learned that this

group was sent from Belgrade the previous day.

In a long file then we marched to Downing Street

to deliver a stack of petitions tied together with aribbon in the Slovenian white-blue-red national

colours. At the end, a Scotland Yard detective ap-

proached us as the organisers with tips on safety and

self defence. He then came with us to inspect our

premises above Adria Airways Office. Exhausted,

we opened a bottle of wine and ordered a pizza.

The following morning Dr. Zvezdan Pirtosek was

supposed to give an interview on breakfast TV. It

was cancelled but only after I had got up at 3 am.

Whilst we were demonstrating a group of Irish

prisoners escaped. They made the news. The Times

though published a picture of our bespectacled min-ister towering over our demonstration and the Daily

Telegraph a picture of a blonde girl with a placard.

Below, a cartoon on the EU-brokered cease-fire the

previous day: We could get Peter Brooke to negoti-

ate hes got nothing much to do, at the moment.

The Trafalgar Square demonstrationand media coverage

XXIV

The list of speakers at the Trafalgar Square Slov-

enian demonstration on 7 July 1991 received an

unexpected addition when a Times journalistbrought to the rally a Slovenian government min-

ister who was on a visit to London. An added bo-

nus was the next days coverage of the Slovenian

event in the Times with their speaker in the

foreground.


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Photo:MihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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42

Breda Gajseks vigil in her own words:

The idea that we should keep the vigil for a week

or two was Zvezdans (Dr.Pirtosek). He asked for

volunteers, I raised my hand and I guess, being theonly one, I got the job. We decided to keep the

Vigil every day for the next couple of weeks with

burning candles,flowers, and a Slovenianflag.

Another highlight of the Vigil was the day when

Boza Devlin and her sister Zeljka Jones organised

ITA and cable TV to come andfilm the Vigil. As the

cameras started to make theirfirst shots a police car

with sirens switched on rushed to the scene and two

police officers jumped out of the car.

Who is Breda Gajsek? they shouted out.

Me! I replied, puzzled.We have been informed that hundreds of people

are gathering in front of the Embassy and there are

fears that you are going to storm the Embassy... yet

you have been granted permission for only two peo-

ple to gather at this place. What is going on?

I started to laugh - I could not help it... I explained

to the police officers that we were only making a

shortfilm for the evening news, and that was it. The

police office looked at each other and smiled. I was

glad to see that even the police were amazed at the

extent the Embassy went to in order to get me out of

sight. They left and we carried ourfilming as nor-mal.

There was another incident during Vigil that sent a

bit of a chill down my spine... I reported this to the

Kensington Police and they suggested that I should

stop the vigil as things were getting too dangerous

for me - after all I have made my statement and there

was nothing else for me to achieve. But I was stub-

born and I insisted on carrying on if nothing else,

every day few more people would learn something

about my country... (bg1991).

(from Our Breda, in Chronicle Slovenians in London 1991-1994, ARS2006, p.199-203)

Breda Gajseks recollection (above) of her vigil

in front of the Yugoslav Embassy from June to

October 1991 documents the extent to which theEmbassy staff went to discredit the protester who

attracted considerable media attention including

an article in the Evening Standard and television

coverage.

Breda Gajseks recollection of her vigil in frontof the Yugoslav Embassy from June to October

XXV


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Photo:MihaDobrin,1991,andArchiveSNL(authorunknown),199

1.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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Photo

:MihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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46

Over the summer of 1991, with the worst of the cri-

sis over, group impetus was on the wane but a few in

the Crisis Centre decided to seek further challenges.

Prompted by moving appeals from Slovenia citingdevastating damage and a dire economic situation as

the consequence of the war, economic blockade and

collapse of tourism we drafted a programme of fu-

ture activities to help our motherland. We proposed

to aid Slovenia in the fields of tourist promotion,

business introductions, charitable assistance and

cultural exchange. The outline was discussed with

the Slovenian community in London and presented

to the authorities in Ljubljana.

Another pressing task was the bonding of the

Slovenian community, divided until the war alonggenerational, ideological and gender lines. Of the

1500 Slovenians living in the UK, a great part

were London-based and belonged to three groups

with little in common. The older generation of

political refugees from just after the Second World

War, mostly manual workers, was focused on the

Slovenian Catholic Mission. Later arrivals, young

(female) economic immigrants, stayed, married and

integrated. The remaining few belonged to the busi-

ness community or were students.

Pictures of Yugoslav Army tanks rolling over Slov-

enian countryside awoke amongst Slovenes of allpersuasions a sense of national identity and togeth-

erness. Determined to help preserve and cultivate

it, we initiated regularfirst-Monday-of-the month

meetings at the Masons Arms. These meetings ran

for over a year and were the forerunner of the Brit-

ish-Slovenian Society.

In the autumn of 1991 the Crisis Centre initi-

ated regular monthly meetings for the Slovenian

community. It took place at the Masons Armsin Maddox Street in Central London, close to its

premises above Adria Airline and coincidentally

run by a Slovenian born lady publican by the

name of Slavica.

Slovenian community meetings at the Masons Armsin autumn 1991

XXIX


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Photo:Archiv

eSNL(authorunknown),1991.

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48

Initially, the idea of organising cultural events had

a practical goal - the need for fundraising to cover

considerable Crisis Centre expenses during those

frantic times of war and demonstrations. A tel-ephone company threatened the Crisis Centre and

consequently our host, Adria Airways Representa-

tive Office, with bailiffs.

Our first fundraising concert at the beautiful

Leighton House in October 1991 featured two

Slovenian-born musicians, sisters Tatjana and Na-

tasa Lipovsek, and a poetry reading by our poetess

and potter Ifigenija Zagoricnik-Simonovic.

In 1992, our second concert with the Lipovsek sis-

ters took place at St.Johns Smith Square, a prestig-

ious musical venue in Central London. Tofi

nanceits organisation, a syndicate of twenty was set up to

provide an initial budget as a no-interest high-risk

loan. The concert was recorded and professional

quality cassettes were produced. With the proceed-

ings we organised a beginners Slovenian language

evening class, the only one in London. It was based

at the University of London and was aimed at Brit-

ish spouses of Slovenians. We also co-sponsored

the visit of Slovenian poets to a festival in London

and made a charitable donation to Lady Nott for her

Fund for Refugees in Slovenia.

For all involved, the organisation of these eventswas a steep learning curve in promotion, publicity,

and sponsorship acquisition. We were driven by an

invincible naive enthusiasm (Zvezdan Pirtosek)

and each time rewarded with an adrenaline boost.

For many of us the hardest experience was not the

challenge of demanding actions but the eventual

normality restored - return to routine.

Between autumn 1991 and spring 1992, a se-

quence of Slovenian cultural events livened the

community calendar, including concerts, poetryreadings, a commercial cassette production, the

founding of a Slovenian language class, a lecture

and a (briefly flourishing) literary page in the

Slovenian Newsletter.

Our cultural events in 1991 and 1992

XXX


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Photo:VesnaAzadi,1991,andArchiveSNL(authorunknown),

1991,

1992.

Risbe:JanaVizjak.

Design:Ifigenija

ZagoricnikSimonovic.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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Source:Archive

SNL


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52

Slovenes living in Britain had been aware for a

while that both the British public and the majority

of opinion-makers resisted or were even opposed

to the break-up of Yugoslavia. One of the reasons perhaps Margaret Thatchers during her time in

Downing Street questioned: Who would then

pay back the Yugoslav foreign debt? Also, in the

eyes of many British politicians, particularly those

on the left, Yugoslavia had the aura of a country that

fought Hitler and resisted Stalin whilst Slovenia

would be a Johnny-come-lately and possibly part of

a German foreign policy plot.

As Frank Devlin, an Englishman married to a

Slovenian later observed: When Slovenia was in-

vaded by the Yugoslav National Army, and underattack from the Federal government in Belgrade, I

was as ignorant of the constitutional facts as anyone

else in Britain and prepared to accept at face value

the media reports that the Slovenes were adopting

an unconstitutional (and therefore illegal) position

by pressing ahead for secession from the Yugoslav

Federation

Slovenia declared her independence but the tide

was slow to turn. This fuelled us with determination

to explain Slovenias position to Britain through

media interviews and parliamentary lobbying. A

decade later, in 2001 HE Hugh Mortimer, BritishAmbassador to Slovenia commented at the open-

ing of our exhibition at the Slovenian National

Archives: Statehood does not happen by itself but

it is the result of political consensus which depends

in turn on sheer hard work, leadership and the com-

mitment of many.

Grass - roots may have played a part too in British

recognition of Slovenia.

Prime Minister John Majors letter dated 15 January 1992with British recognition of Slovenia

The driving force for expatriate Slovenians was

absolute conviction on the legality and legitimacy

of Slovenian secession. The long awaited Britishrecognition of Slovenian sovereignty and inde-

pendence came in a letter dated 15 January 1992

from the British Prime Minister John Major to

the President of Slovenia Milan Kucan.

XXVIII


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Photo:M

ihaDobrin,

1991.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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54

Poster Putting Slovenia on the Map on the LondonUnderground in April and May 1993

XXXII

In summer 1991, soon after our demonstration at

Trafalgar Square in support of Slovenian inde-

pendence, it became obvious that the majority of

the British public were ignorant of the new statein Europe and of normal living conditions within

her borders. As Slovenes in Britain, we considered

it our duty to inform Britain about Slovenia and to

link the two countries through cultural promotion

and mutual business opportunities.

We felt that we could achieve this goal with a visual

presentation of Slovenian design and products. It

happened thanks to the visionary merchandise

director of Libertys. In July 1992, Richard Stew-

art-Liberty agreed to organise a sales exhibition of

Slovenian goods for which he suggested the titlePutting Slovenia on the Map and engaged Lib-

ertys publicity machine to promote Slovenia. This

was in spring 1993 when for most of the British

public, Slovenia, Slovakia and Slavonia were a war

zone in the Bosnian quagmire.

For a month, the Slovenian flag flew high over

Libertys Regent Street building. All Libertys shop

windows featured stunning displays of Slovenian

goods. A penetrating advertisement about the ex-

hibition filled the radio-waves, life-style magazines

wrote about it. Below ground, Liberty-designed

posters Putting Slovenia on the Map graced thestations and corridors of the London Underground.

Later on, the then Slovenian Ambassador remarked

that prior to this exhibition, all of their mail went

to the Slovak Embassy. Afterwards, he noticed the

reverse.

In March and April 1993, the celebrated Lon-

don department store Liberty mounted a com-

mercial exhibition of Slovenian design andproducts under the title Putting Slovenia on

the Map. The show, advertised by a striking

Liberty-designed poster on the London Un-

derground, attracted extensive media coverage

and echoed in Slovenia.


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Photo:JanaValencic,1993.Source:ArchiveSNL


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56

As the British public in those times knew nothing

certainly nothing positive about Slovenia, we

soon decided to undertake image building cam-

paigns on her behalf. As individuals with no mar-keting experience, no contacts and no money we

relied on our ideas and our conviction.

Intuitively we felt that for the most effective cam-

paigns we should cooperate with British partners

who could contribute local knowledge and clout.

We focused on design for its combination of culture

with industry, feeling that such promotion could

boost both Slovenias standing and her economy.

Liberty, the prestigious department store on Regent

Street in the heart of London agreed on the experi-

ment with Slovenia. Usually, promotional showsare government-sponsored and selected by a com-

mittee. This one was idiosyncratic and different as

Liberty chose the goods, purchased them outright

and carried all commercial risk.

Libertys merchandise director Richard Stewart -

Liberty and a senior buyer criss-crossed Slovenia,

and sourced the items both from big, then still state-

run factories as well as small makers. The country

had only recently emerged from a command econ-

omy, a legacy of which was a multitude of small

scale, indigenous production.

The stock included Slovenian design, mass pro-duced goods and craft items as well as fashion,

food, drinks, tourist promotion and Slovenian lit-

erature in English translation. The most photogenic

item however was an original, full-scale working

kozolec, a symbol of Slovenia, brought over by

Liberty for this show.

Slovenian products, fashion, food, drinks, cui-

sine, tourism, and Slovenian literature in English

translation were incorporated into the exclusiveLiberty stock during the Putting Slovenia on the

Map sales exhibition in April and May 1993.

Putting Slovenia on the Map at Libertyin April and May 1993

XXXIV


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Photo:MihaDobrin,1993.

Source:ArchiveSNL


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58

The Kozolec, a traditional Slovenian rural structure

used for drying hay is a symbol of the Slovenian

landscape. Richard Stewart-Liberty, Libertys

merchandise director therefore agreed to bringa recycled eighty year old kozolec to the UK as

part of Libertys exhibition of Slovenian design in

March and April of 1993. A test assembly, which

lasted for one day, was constructed in Russell

Square gardens in Central London. On the follow-

ing days, the structure was reassembled in Libertys

central atrium for the duration of the show with the

consequent aim offinding a suitable venue for its

permanent location.

In 1994, the Pitt Rivers Museum, a part of Oxford

University, accepted Libertys kozolec into its permanent collection. Simultaneously, HRH the

Prince of Wales agreed to have a similar single-roof

kozolec built at his Gloucester estate at Highgrove

House as part of an awareness campaign for the

preservation of endangered vernacular structures,

and organic farming. We also felt that HRHs inter-

est for these redundant structures could slow down

their demise and thus the pauperisation of the Slov-

enian cultural landscape.

Master carpenter Lojze Cerar from Domzale with

his three assistants arrived from Slovenia for the

two assemblies which took place on 23 June 1994at Highgrove and 25 June 1994 in Oxford. The Ko-

zolec in England event was a considerable achieve-

ment in logistics, sponsorship and motivation by

a number of people both in UK and in Slovenia,

where it sparked huge media interest.

In 1993 the first kozolec, a symbol of Slovenia,

was brought to England as part of Libertys

Putting Slovenia on the Map exhibition. Thefollowing year it was relocated at Pitt Rivers

museum in Oxford and a second kozolec was

assembled at HRH the Prince of Wales estate

at Highgrove House which attracted Slovenian

media attention.

Kozolecs in England in 1993 and 1994

XXXV


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Photo:JanaValen

cic,1993,1994,andArchiveSNL(authorunknown),1993,1994.Source:ArchiveSNL


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60

The most travelled, most media-friendly and prob-

ably most expensive kozolec of all times was the

one brought to London by Libertys as part of their

exhibition of Slovenian design in March and April1993. It had been recycled by the master carpenter

Lojze Cerar from leftovers of redundant com-

ponents into the smallest real life working two

window kozolec, three meters high and meters in

length.

The kozolec was temporarily constructed with

detachable foundations for the polished hardwood

flooring of Libertys fashion department.

In the following year, the kozolec found its perma-

nent home at the Pitt Rivers ethnographic museum

at Oxford University. The structure was assembledin the museums Music Garden - fittingly for a

kozolec whose subsequent foundations were made

from 200-year-old redundant oak bell supports

from a Domzale church belltower. The photograph

features Lojze Cerar on the right and Joze Medved,

his assistant, on the left during the assembly at Pitt

Rivers on 25 June 1994.

In 2006, due to the redevelopment of the site, the

kozolec was moved again, this time to the Oxford

University arboretum in Nuneham Courtenay on

the outskirts of Oxford. Lojze Cerar and his team

came over again to reassemble it once more. After along journey, the wandering kozolec returned to its

natural habitat, a meadow, albeit in Britain.

As kozolecs are becoming increasingly redun-

dant structures due to changing farming practic-

es, the assembly of Libertys kozolec in Oxfordin 1994 and its subsequent relocation in 2006 was

a rare opportunity to document a dying skill. In

the photograph are master carpenters Lojze

Cerar and Joze Medved in Oxford in 1994.

The assembly of Libertys kozolec atPitt Rivers Museum in 1994

XXXVI


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Photo:JanaValencic,1993.Source:ArchiveSNL


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62

The Slovenian Newsletter was founded in London

on 29 June 1991 as a personal response to the war in

Slovenia, and to link the Slovenian community and

its British supporters. Its work was closely bondedto the Crisis Centre and later the Newsletter became

the initiator of cultural and publicity events.

In summer 1991, it took on the role of the chroni-

cler of grass-roots support for Slovenian independ-

ence. In February 1992, it incorporated into its ar-

chive most of the disbanded Crisis Centre written

records.

The Newsletters archiving policy focused on the

work of ordinary individuals as they regularly at-

tract less attention than institutions and personalities

- yet during those crucial times small stories were asimpressive and worth preserving as big narratives.

In summer 1993, the editors decided to organise and

present our material as an incentive for other grass-

roots movements. We examined the archive and

drafted an outline for an exhibition and a publica-

tion. In December 1994, Miha Dobrin and Jana Va-

lencic mounted the exhibition Slovenes in London

1991-1994 which was shown in several venues in-

cluding the Slovenian Parliament in 1996, and the

Slovenian National Archives in 2001 and 2006. In

June 2008, the exhibition was mounted in the House

of Commons, UK.In 2006, Jana Valencic and Miha Dobrin compiled

a comprehensive catalogue subtitled A Chronicle

of Grass-roots Activities for Slovenian Independ-

ence: the Slovenian Crisis Centre and the Slovenian

Newsletter. It was published by the Slovenian Na-

tional Archives to mark the donation of our archive

to their collection.

From 1991-1994 the Slovenian Newsletter ac-

companied the activities of the Slovenian Crisis

Centre, kept the records and later on initiatedseveral events including the first mounting of the

present exhibition in 1994, an appeal to preserve

a record of grass-roots activities for Slovenian

independence and the publishing of a chronicle

of events.

The Slovenian Newsletter, a participantin the events and their chronicler

XXXVII


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Photo:MihaDobrin,1

991,VesnaAzadi,1991,AndrewHartley,1991,JanaValencic,1994.Source:ArchiveSNL


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64

JanaValenii

nMihaDobrin

Sl

ovenciv

Londonu

19911994

/Sloveniansin

London1

9911994

APERSONAL VIEW

The political and military events leading up to the Slov-

enia's independence have been widely documented by the

media. What was less well acknowledged were the activi-

ties of Slovene citizens who were living abroad at the time.

Thisexhibitionattemptstodocumenttheresponseof asmall

group ofSloveneslivingin UKin 1991.Theindividuals

concerneddid nothaveclosecontactwitheachotheruntil

eventsbeganto takeplacebut weregalvanisedintocommit-

tedgroupactionby sharedconcernoverSlovenia.

As an Englisman married to a Slovene, I was able to make

relatively objective observations and watch this phenom-

enon of a pressure group action unfold, with a growing ad-

miration for not only the energy involved, but also of the

abilityto negotiate and reach decisions rapidly.

In my view, this exhibition is not simplya record of events

it is a small tribute to the individuals who took the time

and energy to participate and who did not merely stand

back passively. This exhibition should not be viewed sim-

plyas an archive it points to the future, offering an exam-

ple of how committed individuals and groups can actively

take part in society.

Bypersistent pressure the will of people at grass-roots level

can influence the decision makers, politically, culturally

and commercially.

This exhibition contains examples of grass-roots action at

pressure group level, throught the Slovenian Crisis Cen-

tre and the Slovenian Newsletter, and at individual level,

throught the promotion of Slovenian culture and commerce

at Leighton House and St. John's Smith Square (classical

and folk concerts), Liberty (Slovene design and produce)

and at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford (kozolec).

The most effective democracies operate from grass-roots

level, encouraging participation from bottom up to bal-

ance the tendencyfor top down decisions. This exhibition

should be regarded as an example of the value of encourag-

ing grass-roots movements throughout Slovene society.

In a country the size of Slovenia everybody should be en-

couraged to participate maybe this exhibition can offer

some encouragement.

Michael Betts

December 1994

RAZSTAVI NA POT

(prevod) Politini in vojaki dogodki, ki so vodili k sa-

mostojnosti Slovenije, so bili obirno dokumentirani v

medijih. Po drugi strani pa je mnogo manj poznano delo-

vanje slovenskih dravljanov, ki so v tistem asu iveli

na tujem.

Ta razstava skua prikazati odziv majhne skupine Slo-

vencev, ki so leta 1991 iveli v Veliki Britaniji. Preden

so se dogodki zaeli odvijati, si ti posamezniki niso bili

blizu, skupna skrb nad dogajanjem v Sloveniji pa jih je

zlila v trdno akcijsko jedro.

Kot Angle, poroen s Slovenko, sem lahko sorazmerno

objektivno opazoval, kako se je razvijal fenomen skupi-

ne za pritisk, in vedno bolj sem

Documents

Slovenians in London 91-94