I Am Not An Optimist

* After the conflict of last June, peace came to Slovenia. However, it has been interrupted now and then by terrorist actions. None of the paramilitary or radical groups in Slovenia claimed responsibility for these acts. Have you found out who was planting the bombs throughout Slovenia?

It is beyond doubt that only the federal army could benefit from the destabilization of my country. Its special units, located in the surrounding od Brezice airport, are responsible for these acts.

* According to some information, there has been a group of 182 chetniks (Serbian extremists) acting in Slovenia. Have you been keeping them under control?

Of course, we keep an eye on all radical groups. We have a list with a few names, but I assure you that the mentioned figure is extremely exaggerated. There are no chetniks in Slovenia, nor have there ever been more than a dozen.

* How do you see the future of Slovenia with regards to the rest of Yugoslavia, namely Serbia?

Politics is one thing, business is another. As far as our relations with Serbia are concerned, it would not be wise for Slovenia to easily give up on the market it knows well and where it has established its position. I am sorry that Serbia's response has been strictly political, which is not pragmatic, since the mutual trade potential is enormous. I do, however, expect things to improve soon.

* Do you collaborate with other republics' ministries of interior?

We collaborate with Croatia and Macedonia... We have broken off contacts with Serbia. If a criminal known to the Serbian authorities were to appear in Slovenia, we would not be notified. Our inter-state relations are practically non- existent.

* Does that mean that a person who is stopped at the Slovene border with the red (Yugoslav) passport and Serbian papers can expect a more severe treatment than others?

I would say that everybody is treated in the same way. The police, however, has discretionary powers and an officer is sometimes allowed to proceed according to his own judgment. But we do not plan to introduce any particular restrictions.

* Slovenia has not introduced any official measures against Serbia, but it is systematically making it more difficult for non-Slovene citizens to stay in Slovenia. Dinar, for example, which until recently was the official currency in Slovenia, no longer features on the exchange rate lists and cannot be legally exchanged.

It is more an issue for the National Bank than for the police. The government and the National Bank have now become two separate institutions, with different competencies. They are two economic centres of power who create independent politics.

* It is known that you have been friends with Janez Jansa, Slovene defence minister. Whose department - yours or Mr. Jansa's - is, according to you, more responsible for the import of German arms to Slovenia?

I know nothing about that. We didn't import a single rifle from Germany. The arms we've got are of Russian, i. e. eastern origin. We also have "Armbrust" anti-tank weapons supplied by a south-Asian source.

* Nevertheless, some "Armbrust" weapons from Germany were found at the Croatians front. They came via Slovenia.

The German army does not have such weapons and they definitely don't originate from Germany. These are weapons from Singapore. Besides, "Armbrust" is in the inventory of the Slovene territorial defence units. * Judging from all this, how do you see the future developments in the Yugoslav crisis?

I am afraid that, despite this last cease-fire which looks promising, all the information lead to the conclusion that huge military potential is being accumulated on both Serbian and Croatian sides, that the federal army is preparing itself for a new offensive, the peace in Bosnia is very fragile and the situation there can deteriorate at any minute... I believe that the international peace-keeping forces should be brought here as soon as possible in order to physically separate the warring parties. All in all, I am not an optimist and I think that this will be a long-term crisis. Even when the war is over, it is very likely that there will be occasional skirmishes and acts of terrorism, just like in Lebanon, especially because there are some armed groups which are not under the authority of either sides. The end of war will create tremendous problems for Serbia. It is absolutely clear that the survival of the present Serbian regime depends on this conflict. Therefore, I am not an optimist, even less so since neither the opposition in Serbia seem to have any reasonable way out.

* Do you think that the Yugoslav state crisis could have been solved in another way, so that Slovenia would not have to chose the secessionist option?

Oh yes! It has been proved throughout history that political decisions do not depend strictly on certain rules and principles. I would rather say that they are often a result of mere coincidence. Therefore, I am convinced that the outcome could have been different. Until recently, all the options were open, we did have a choice...