Speech by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, at the "Crow's Flight" ceremony

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Dear combatants and veterans,
Your Excellencies, dear guests and friends,

It is a great honour and privilege for me to mark this day with you. As I stand here today, we are paying tribute not only to history.

We are paying tribute to the values that have shaped us as a nation: the values of courage, solidarity and freedom.

We are paying tribute to the people – the residents of Bela krajina, the partisans, and the Allied soldiers – who chose humanity over fear in the hardest of times. We also honour those who witnessed this courage firsthand.

Mr Zavodnik, you are the only surviving witness of those days.
As a child, you accompanied the partisans and Allied soldiers. Today, I salute you with profound respect.
I also greet all the children who fled to freedom from this very airport and who are here with us today. You are children of war, who were the first to fly towards peace.

The Crow's Flight is not only a reminder of courage.
It is proof that even a small nation in the heart of Europe can write a great story –
 a story of courage, solidarity and dignity.

The daring operation in 1944 was more than just a military feat.
It was a choice. It was a decision to stand up for humanity amidst an abyss of violence.
It was a decision based not on the power of weapons, but on the power of values.

Today, as our world once again fractures into divides and walls, this story calls on us to remember where we come from and not to forget where we are going.

Memory is not only an archive. Memory is a mirror.

When we speak of Gaza and Ukraine, and of all the other places where people are dying beneath the rubble of lies and the ideology of hatred, we are not speaking of the past. Sadly.
We are speaking of the present and of our responsibility.

Slovenia chose the right side during World War II.
It did not remain neutral. It was courageous. Its choice was guided by values, not by calculation.
It stood for freedom, truth and humanity.

Today, our Government and our country remain committed to these very same values.
Slovenia has recognised Palestine with a clear voice.

Not for political reasons, but for humanitarian ones.

For the children who deserve a future without bombs.

It was a civilisational duty.

I am delighted and grateful that the Ambassadors of Australia and the United Kingdom, who took the same step, are also with us today.

Our statehood did not begin with diplomacy.
It began with resistance.

The National Hall. The TIGR Anti-fascist organisation. The heroes of Bazovica. The partisan hospitals in our forests. The Crow's Flight.
Then, in 1991, we finally achieved our freedom.

These are the foundations on which Slovenia stands today.
This is not the history of any single party. It is the history of our nation.

It is on these foundations that we build our laws, our reforms and, above all, our future.
When we talk about justice, solidarity and freedom, we talk about our commitment to people.

Today, we are not called to the front lines. Today, we are called to take responsibility.

This is why the Government has undertaken and implemented many changes that were politically challenging, but socially necessary, such as the pension reform.

Pensions are not just numbers in a spreadsheet. Pensions are, and must remain, a token of gratitude to the generations of pensioners who built our country.

What will the reform bring?

• Stability and real growth to ensure decent pensions for the future.
• The largest increases for the most vulnerable, including widow's/widower's pension and disability pensions. 

This year, for the first time in history, pensioners will also receive a Christmas bonus. While it will not be large – €150 for everyone – it will be a permanent addition, representing an initial expression of our gratitude. This is not a token gesture, but a right enshrined in the new pension law for all for the years ahead. 

Just as partisans did not leave the wounded behind, we must not abandon the elderly today.

After decades of promises, we are introducing a system of long-term care.

Thanks to the efforts of the people of Bela krajina, excellent care is already being provided. I am glad that Bela krajina can set an example for Slovenia as a whole once again, particularly with regard to long-term care, where the focus is on people.

A community is only as strong as its care for the most vulnerable members.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Time and again, attempts are made to abuse history,
to describe fascism as defence, to proclaim collaboration as courage.

But truth is not an ideology. Truth is fact.
And Slovenia will not deny the truth.

We will not justify fascism. 

We will not forget courage.

Everything we have today is thanks to those who dared to say NO to the occupier,
to those who dared to dream of freedom at a time when it seemed out of reach.

Just as they dared then, so we dare today:

• to recognise Palestine;
• to reform pensions;
• to introduce long-term care;
• and to strengthen the public good.

Courage is not history. It is a choice.
It means believing that something is possible, even when everyone says it isn't.

Because that is our tribute to those who fought for our freedom.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Crow's Flight tells the story of those who chose resistance when yielding would have been easier, of those who saved lives not out of command, but out of conscience.

Our tribute goes to all of them. Our commitment goes to future generations,

that we will not remain silent when history is abused,
that we will not remain silent when someone calls freedom an ideology,
that from the courage of the past we will build a future worthy of us.

As I said on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war:

Slovenia is not just a legacy of the past; it is also a guarantee of the future.

We will defend it together, in your name and in our time.

Thank you