| Secondary abstract: |
The thesis presents an analysis of the coverage of selected Austrian newspapers of the war for the defense of independent Slovenia, which took place between June 27 and July 7, 1991. For this thesis, the main Styrian regional newspapers, Kleine Zeitung and Neue Zeit, as well as the main Austrian Viennese newspapers Der Standard, Die Presse, Kurier and Neue Kronen Zeitung, were analysed, considering the most relevant literature. The declaration of independence of Slovenia on June 25, 1991, led to a confrontation between the Slovenian state leadership, the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Slovenian militia on one hand, and the Yugoslav state leadership in Belgrade and its subordinates, the Yugoslav People's Army, the Federal Militia and the Customs on the other. The Yugoslav authorities and the Yugoslav People's Army wanted to preserve a united Yugoslavia and prevent the break-up of the country. Slovenia's aim was to defend its independence and achieve international recognition. In this context, it is necessary to mention the remarkable unity of the Slovene population, which, during the war for the defense of independent Slovenia, either in a military or civilian role, helped to prevent the aggressor from achieving its goal. The declaration of an independent state did not initially meet with a positive response in the eyes of the international community. First and foremost, we should mention the predecessor of the European Union, the European Economic Community, within which Germany played an important role as well as Austria and the United States of America. The Austrian newspapers have reported extensively and chronologically on developments in Slovenia. They had correspondents in Slovenia to report on political and battlefield developments. What should be noted about the regional newspapers is that, unlike the Viennese newspapers, they focused more on what was happening on the border and in the border towns. The newspapers also contained opinions and analyses of what was happening in Slovenia. The Austrian political leadership was "unofficially" in favour of Slovenia's independence, but they always stressed the policy of non-interference in Yugoslavia's internal affairs, respect for international law, and respect for the right to self-determination of the Slovenian people, who had overwhelmingly supported their desire to leave Yugoslavia in the plebiscite and had finally reaffirmed it by their actions in the course of the war for Slovenia. In addition to state policy, it is important to highlight the activities of Austrian local politicians, at the level of cities and provinces, some of whom strongly supported Slovenian independence and attended the ceremony on June 26, 1991. The resistance of the Territorial Defence and the militia, combined with Slovenian political lobbying in the field of diplomacy and the determination of the Slovenian population, led the leading European countries to change their minds on the issue of Slovenia. The question of preserving Yugoslavia was replaced by the question of a ceasefire and the "continuation" of the process of independence, which happened on July 7, 1991, with the signing of the Brijuni Declaration. By signing the Declaration, Slovenia temporarily "froze" the independence process for three months, making it clear that it would not return to the Yugoslav federation. |