Ribnica - The central national ceremony marking Resistance Day highlighted the role resistance has played in the nation's survival, with the keynote speaker, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek describing it as "a pillar of our identity".

"When our language, our culture, our way of life were at risk, we have been able to rise up and stand up in defence of our greatest wealth.

"We've known how to defend our territory, our wealth. We've often shown in history that as a nation we are able to recognise the sign of the time and respond accordingly," Počivalšek said.

The ceremony was held on Mala Gora, a hill near Ribnica where the first armed clash on Slovenian soil took place after the occupation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, pitting members of the underground organisation TIGR against Italian forces on 13 May 1941.

Počivalšek said the TIGR-led market "the beginning of our autonomy, the beginnings of Slovenia's upright stance."

The same stance prevailed thirty years ago, when Slovenia won independence, and this "uninterrupted flow of efforts for Slovenian culture" must be continued.

"I know who won the war. And on days like this it is important to say that. Because this is what such days area about.

"Alas, the practice here, which is not healthy for the nation, is to abuse this sacred time in our history day after day for politicking and sowing divisions," he said.

Počivalšek said Slovenians must now do what their parents did and rise up to the occasion, joining forces in the post-pandemic psychological, social and economic recovery.

He said more attention should be dedicated to what brings the nation together than on what causes division, since the latter is no longer essential in the present day.

The present-day recovery must involve building a broad development front. It is time to "become united at least as far as the development vision is concerned."

The ceremony also featured President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Janša.

Resistance Day commemorates the creation of the Communist-led Liberation Front on 27 April 1941, which was initially called the Anti-Imperialist Front but was renamed after Germany attacked Russia.

Prime Minister Janez Janša said on Twitter the first Slovenian parliament had made Resistance Day a national holiday in the spirit of unity dedicated to all Slovenian resistance fighters through the centuries and until 1991.

"This includes everyone who left for the Partisans out of patriotism, but it did not sign into law some kind of holiday of a [Liberation Front] that had not existed in April 1941."