in Ljubljana: Memorial to the fallen in the 10Day War

The Ten-Day War, sometimes called the Slovenian War, was a brief military conflict between Slovenia and Yugoslavia that took place following Slovenia's declaration of independence on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the Slovenian Territorial Defence  and the Yugolsav People’s Army (YPA)  It lasted from 27 June 1991 until 7 July 1991, when the Brioni agreement was signed. It marked the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars.  On 23 December 1990, Slovenia had held a referendum, which passed with 88.5% of overall electorate supporting independence (94.8% of votes cast), with a voter turnout of 93.3. The Slovenian government was well aware that the federal government in Belgrade  might seek to use military force to quash Slovenia's move towards independence. Immediately after the Slovenian elections, the YPA  announced a new defence doctrine that would apply across the country. The Tito-era doctrine of "General People's Defence", in which each republic maintained a Territorial Defence (TO) was to be replaced by a centrally directed system of defence. The republics would lose their role in defence matters, and their TOs would be disarmed and subordinated to YPA headquarters in Belgrade. The Slovenian government resisted these moves and successfully ensured that the majority of Slovenian Territorial Defence (TO) equipment was kept out of the hands of the YPA. It also declared in a constitutional amendment passed on 28 September 1990 that its TO would be under the sole command of the Slovenian government. The Brioni agreement, signed in July 1991, put an end to hostilities between the JNA and Slovene forces in the Ten-Day War.  Slovenia and Croatia agreed to suspend activities stemming from their 25 June declarations of independence for a period of three months. The document also resolved border control and customs inspection issues regarding Slovenia's borders, resolved air-traffic control  responsibility and mandated an exchange of prisoners of war.  Brioni Agreement also formed the basis for an observer mission  monitor implementation of the agreement in Slovenia. Eleven days after the agreement was made, the federal government pulled the JNA out of Slovenia. Conversely, the agreement made no mitigating impact on fighting in Croatia. Due to the short duration and low intensity of the Slovenian war, casualties were not high. According to Slovenian estimates, the YPA suffered 44 fatalities and 146 wounded, while the Slovenians had 18 killed and 182 wounded. A national monument in memory of the fallen soldiers in fights for the independent Slovenia in 1991 was built in the Žale Central Cemetery,  the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana. This monument is at the foothills of a giant, artificial pile for ash scaterring with an altar table and a large crucifix at the top, designed by the architecter Marko Mušič in 1982. According to the Euroepan Cemeteries Route  “…Trapped forever in the stone of the cenotaph is fire that the architect placed at the perimeter alleyway leading to the landscaped area intended for the scattering of cremains. The torch is sculpted from three different stone types in the colours of the Slovenian flag. On the manmade mound behind the cenotaph stands a cross; the initial design called for stations of the Cross leading to it. The monumental cross stands behind a stylised altar; the architectural solution of the cross is rather original – since it does not bear the dead Christ, the architect added to the Christian symbolism of the cross its pre-Christian paradigm (a standing human being with arms open wide). The cross is a sign of the Cemetery recognisable from afar – which was once known under the name of Holy Cross – and at the same time a symbol of all civilisations and religions, as the cross shape symbolises death.” These photos, taken in March 2018, show some views of the “Mušič’s Žale” and the National Memorial to the fallen in the Ten-Day war.