Committee for the Defence of Human Rights
Encyclopedia
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights was a civil society
organization in Slovenia
, which functioned during the so-called Slovenian Spring between 1988 and 1990.
It was founded in Ljubljana
on 31 May 1988, after the Counter-Intelligence Service of the Yugoslav People's Army arrested three Slovenian journalists and an officer of the Yugoslav People's Army
, accusing them of revealing secret military documents. Among the arrested was also Janez Janša
, a critical journalist of the popular alternative magazine Mladina
. Immediately after the news of his arrest was released in Slovenian media, the Committee for the Defence of Rights of Janez Janša was founded. After it became known that the Yugoslav People's Army
had arrested three other civilians, the Committee changed its name and widened its sphere of action.
During the trial against the four arrested (JBTZ trial), the Committee demanded that the trial be opened to the public, that the four be defended by a civilian lawyer and that the trial be conducted in the Slovene language rather than in Serbo-Croatian
.
In the months following the arrest, the Committee became the most powerful civil society initiative in Slovenia, connecting a wide spectrum of individuals and organization. By spring 1990, when the Committee dissolved itself, it already counted around 100,000 individual members (around 5 % of the whole population of Slovenia) and more than a thousand organizations. During the so-called JBTZ trial which followed the arrest, the Committee organized massive protests, and kept a constant pressure on the Communist leadership of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
. It also organized round table discussions and press conferences on the state of human rights in Yugoslavia
and in Slovenia.
After the introduction of a multi-party system and the first free elections of 1990, the Committee dissolved itself. Many of its members became active in the Slovenian politics, especially in the DEMOS coalition and in the Liberal Democratic Party
.
In the first month, the Committee was led by a six-member Presidency, composed by journalists Alenka Puhar
, Bojan Korsika and Mile Šetinc, sociologists Pavel Gantar
and Rastko Močnik
, and presided by activist Igor Bavčar
. Already in mid-1988, the Presidency was dissolved and a wide 32-member collegium was formed, which included many renowned public figures of the most various political and ideological convictions, including journalists Ali Žerdin, Viktor Blažič
and Franco Juri, jurists France Bučar
and Matevž Krivic, philosophers Slavoj Žižek
and Spomenka Hribar
, theologian Anton Stres, political theorist and historian Tomaž Mastnak, sociologists Rado Riha
and Braco Rotar, rock musicians Gregor Tomc
and Igor Vidmar
, physician Dušan Keber, actor Boris Cavazza, poet Veno Taufer
, and future politicians Lojze Peterle
, Franc Zagožen, and Alojz Križman.
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
organization in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, which functioned during the so-called Slovenian Spring between 1988 and 1990.
It was founded in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
on 31 May 1988, after the Counter-Intelligence Service of the Yugoslav People's Army arrested three Slovenian journalists and an officer of the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
, accusing them of revealing secret military documents. Among the arrested was also Janez Janša
Janez Janša
Janez Janša is a Slovenian politician who was Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2004 to November 2008. He has also been President of the Slovenian Democratic Party since 1993...
, a critical journalist of the popular alternative magazine Mladina
Mladina
Mladina is a Slovenian weekly left-wing current affairs magazine. It was first published in the 1920s as the youth magazine of the Slovenian Communist Party...
. Immediately after the news of his arrest was released in Slovenian media, the Committee for the Defence of Rights of Janez Janša was founded. After it became known that the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
had arrested three other civilians, the Committee changed its name and widened its sphere of action.
During the trial against the four arrested (JBTZ trial), the Committee demanded that the trial be opened to the public, that the four be defended by a civilian lawyer and that the trial be conducted in the Slovene language rather than in Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
.
In the months following the arrest, the Committee became the most powerful civil society initiative in Slovenia, connecting a wide spectrum of individuals and organization. By spring 1990, when the Committee dissolved itself, it already counted around 100,000 individual members (around 5 % of the whole population of Slovenia) and more than a thousand organizations. During the so-called JBTZ trial which followed the arrest, the Committee organized massive protests, and kept a constant pressure on the Communist leadership of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
Socialist Republic of Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1990...
. It also organized round table discussions and press conferences on the state of human rights in Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
and in Slovenia.
After the introduction of a multi-party system and the first free elections of 1990, the Committee dissolved itself. Many of its members became active in the Slovenian politics, especially in the DEMOS coalition and in the Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia is a liberal political party in Slovenia. It is led by Katarina Kresal and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...
.
In the first month, the Committee was led by a six-member Presidency, composed by journalists Alenka Puhar
Alenka Puhar
Alenka Puhar is a Slovenian journalist, author, translator, and historian. She is known for her columns in the Slovenian journal Delo, for her writings on the dissident movements in Socialist Slovenia and Yugoslavia, as well as for her book "The Primary Text of Life" , a combination of...
, Bojan Korsika and Mile Šetinc, sociologists Pavel Gantar
Pavel Gantar
Pavel Gantar, also known as Pavle Gantar is a Slovenian politician and sociologist.Gantar was born in the Upper Carniolan village of Gorenja vas near Škofja Loka, Slovenia, in what was then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After finishing a professional school for carpentry, he decided to...
and Rastko Močnik
Rastko Mocnik
Rastko Močnik is a Slovenian sociologist, literary theorist, translator and political activist. Together with Slavoj Žižek and Mladen Dolar, he is considered one of the co-founders of the Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis....
, and presided by activist Igor Bavčar
Igor Bavčar
Igor Bavčar is a Slovenian politician and manager. He rose to prominence during the Slovenian spring, when he served as chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, the largest independent civil society movement in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia...
. Already in mid-1988, the Presidency was dissolved and a wide 32-member collegium was formed, which included many renowned public figures of the most various political and ideological convictions, including journalists Ali Žerdin, Viktor Blažič
Viktor Blažič
Viktor Blažič is a Slovenian journalist, essayist, translator and former anti-Communist dissident.He was born in the village of Smolenja vas near Novo Mesto in south-eastern Slovenia, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1944, he joined the partisan resistance. After World...
and Franco Juri, jurists France Bučar
France Bucar
France Bučar is a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first chairman of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament. He was the one to formally declare the independence of Slovenia on June 25, 1991. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of...
and Matevž Krivic, philosophers Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
and Spomenka Hribar
Spomenka Hribar
Spomenka Hribar is a Slovenian author, philosopher, sociologist, politician, columnist, and public intellectual. She was one of the most influential Slovenian intellectuals in the 1980s, and was frequently called "the First Lady of Slovenian Democratic Opposition", and "the Voice of Slovenian...
, theologian Anton Stres, political theorist and historian Tomaž Mastnak, sociologists Rado Riha
Rado Riha
Rado Riha is a Slovenian philosopher. He is a senior research fellow and currently the head of the , Centre for Scientific Research at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and coordinator of the philosophy module at the post-graduate study programme of the University of Nova Gorica.Born in...
and Braco Rotar, rock musicians Gregor Tomc
Gregor Tomc
Gregor Tomc also known as Grega Tomc is a Slovenian sociologist, musician and activist. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he was the founder and member of the famous Slovenian punk rock band Pankrti.- Biography :...
and Igor Vidmar
Igor Vidmar
Igor Vidmar is a prominent Slovenian and former Yugoslav journalist, rock music promoter and manager, music producer and political activist.-Biography:...
, physician Dušan Keber, actor Boris Cavazza, poet Veno Taufer
Veno Taufer
Veno Taufer is a Slovenian poet, essayist, translator and playwright. Together with Dane Zajc and Gregor Strniša, he is considered one of the foremost Slovenian modernist poets of the postwar era...
, and future politicians Lojze Peterle
Lojze Peterle
Alojz "Lojze" Peterle is a Slovenian politician. He was the leader of the Slovene Christian Democrats from the founding of the party in 1990 until it merged with the Slovenian People's Party in 2000. Between 1990 and 1992, he was the president of the first freely elected Slovenian government, and...
, Franc Zagožen, and Alojz Križman.