"Primorsko and its people were the most tried part of the Slovenian national territory. And these experiences never gave birth to hatred but only solidified rebellion. Not only in spirit but also in everyday actions."

The speaker underlined the role played by a number of Primorsko's patriotic groups during World War II, saying they contributed a lot to the fact that Slovenian is still spoken across the country's western-most region.

Nonetheless, Primorsko is often still pushed away "into ashes", like an unwanted step-child. "The people of Primorsko heard often and with reason that they were not patriotic enough," Brglez told the spectators, including President Borut Pahor.

He was interrupted several times by a group singing "Primorsko Rises", a patriotic Partisan song, considered an unofficial anthem of the region, and "Unite, Unite, Poor Peasantry", a symbol of peasants' rebellions 500 years ago.

The Primorsko Reunification Day is observed on 15 September, remembering the day when the Paris Peace Treaty took effect in 1947. It was declared national holiday in 2006 but is not a bank holiday.

The efforts of the people from the region to reunite with the homeland started already after the break-up of Austria-Hungary and the Italian occupation in 1918.

A large part of Primorsko was ceded by Italy to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under the Paris Peace Treaty. However, a total of 140,000 Slovenians remained outside the borders of the present-day Slovenia.