jubljana, 24 June (STA) - At a press conference held today in the Cankarjev Dom cultural centre, Prime Minister Drnovšek and Foreign Minister Peterle said that the second anniversary of Slovenia's declaration of independence represented the closing of a dramatic chapter in history, the end of the "Yugoslav episode" and trust in the future.***

Ljubljana, 24 June - DRNOVŠEK AND PETERLE: LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE WITH OPTIMISM, IN SPITE OF 'NOSTALGIC PINING FOR YUGOSLAVIA' AND ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES=
        The attention of the numerous foreign journalists centred mainly on the relations between President Kučan and the six politicians, who had recently returned their honourary badges of freedom. Peterle said that he did not "blame Kučan for his pro-Yugoslav policy", but that "some of the president's actions" had not been in keeping with the policy of national independence and sovereignty. In conjunction with this comment, Peterle spoke of the president's "attitude towards the defenders of the state and those who cannot in any way be counted among them," adding that "the letter demands clarity and criticizes the actions of the president of Slovenia."