I remember the jets flying over Republik Square as independent Slovenia’s flag was unfurled.
Naively I thought “is that the best they can do?” guessing, wrongly, that a show of force would be
all the Belgrade government led by Slobodan Milosevic would do because Slovenia would be
no threat to his grand plans. The next day I knew differently of course.
On that next morning, I remember the airport at Brnik, where I filmed a confrontation
between a Slovenian officer and one from the JNA about who was in charge
a rather polite confrontation to begin with, until the JNA tanks arrived from Vhnika.
I remember the crushed truck trailers those tanks drove over.
I remember the border post at the Loibl crossing point into Austria.
Slovenian defence forces had already taken control of the main crossing points overnight.
I remember speaking to one of the officers at the border post who was supremely confident
that his men would hold it.
I wasn’t so sure, the JNA was one of Europe’s largest armies. But his confidence was justified because,
as we know now, it doesn’t matter how many big tanks and guns an army has,
it needs to believe in its mission.
Many of the soldiers in the JNA units sent to “take back control of Slovenia” had no clear idea
of what they were fighting for.
Some of those soldiers were Slovenians anyway, and many of them simply changed sides.
I remember interviewing Gen. Blagoje Adžič, some time later of course.
He blamed the politicians in Belgrade for not letting him mount a full-scale invasion.
I truly believe his forces would still have been heavily defeated.
The death toll would have been horrifying.
As it was, too many died in the conflict, many non-combatants like the truck drivers hit by JNA rockets
and Norbert Werner and Nik Vogel, Austrian journalists killed by JNA fire at Brnik airport.
Sadly I was to see far too many other innocents killed in the wars that followed in Croatia and Bosnia.
Above all, I remember the commitment of Slovenians to prepare for war,
hoping to avoid it but if necessary to win it.
I’m not going to name names, there are too many
– well okay, I must mention Jelko Kacin and his superbly professional press centre in 1991.
And I would be stupid to talk about today’s politics - but surely all Slovenians
are grateful for the tactical planning and secret armament programme that gave the JNA such a fright.