At the celebration of the 30^th anniversary of Slovenia’s independence and the unveiling of the Slovenian column of statehood in Lenart, Ombudsman Peter Svetina, as the keynote speaker, reminded the audience of that unique event when Slovenians united to take advantage of a historic opportunity and show what we could achieve together. The independent Republic of Slovenia is the fruit of joint efforts and joint actions contributing to the country’s identity. According to him, we are too often unaware of the changes we can make together, as we often seem to run out of self-confidence at key moments.

On Friday, we will celebrate the 30^th birthday of our country, which was based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. “The Basic Constitutional Charter alone clearly provides that the Republic of Slovenia shall ensure protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons residing in its territory regardless of their nationality, without any discrimination, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and valid international treaties. This is a value orientation that we as a society must strive for again and again,” said Ombudsman Peter Svetina.

Slovenia also introduced a democratic system based on human rights and fundamental freedoms 30 years ago. The vision of democracy is to take into account and respect different opinions, to understand that each of us has a different view of the world, and to respect different ways of expressing opinions. Freedom of expression is an invaluable democratic acquisition and an important human right, but it is limited by the rights and freedoms of others. “I therefore call on all of Slovenia’s residents to show mutual respect, the ethics of public words and decent communication. We should lead by example and be aware that words either spoken or written in public are our responsibility. Even if we disagree with each other, if we represent or express different opinions or political beliefs and have a different worldview, we can communicate this in a tolerant, respectful, cultivated, and dignified way. Especially publicly exposed people should set an example in this. It is high time that we overcome our differences and agree on the key issues that concern us and will affect our descendants,” said Ombudsman Peter Svetina.