Ladislav Lesar interview, published in SLOVENIJA magazine, with Ivan Tomazic, a Slovenian priest living in Vienna and an ardent student of the Veneti, who has recently published a second anthology about the Veneti, this one entitled The Etruscans and the Veneti.

Official truths no longer hold

"I came to realize that the origins of the Slavs on our territory were in any event much older than those promulgated by a history based on ideological starting points. Their migrations go far back into prehistory. The 6th century arrival of the South Slavs in the Balkans was only their last migratory wave, and the widespread belief that the Slovenes only arrived in their current territory in the late 6th century no longer holds. New findings prove that we Slovenes are an autochthonous people and that our ancestors the Veneti were already bearers of Central European Culture and history in ancient times. They outlasted the Celts and the Romans and still today form part of European culture and history within a smaller territory that is a genuine natural pearl."

" The fact is that while peoples such as Romans and Celts invaded and left our territory, the on-going presence of the Veneti is solidly documented, and the theory that we only arrived here in the 6th century from behind the Carpathians has no historical basis. There is no evidence of this from serious chroniclers."

"On the whole, I can say that our theory is holding out at an above-average level among the general Slovenian public. Many new colaborators and advocates of the theory have appeared. I was pleased that our latest book was presented in such a splendid manner at the headquarters of Smelt, an important Slovenian company, where the first life-size statue of the Veneti horse stands. It is the work of the internationally renowned sculptor Oskar Kogoj, who placed exactly the same horse in front of the United Nations offices in Geneva to tell the whole world the story of Slovenian culture and the history of our ancestors, the Veneti. Another such bronze horse is intended for Jerusalem to tell this three-thousand-year-old city the story of the Veneti who three thousand years ago spread across Europe as bearers of the urn burial culture."

The book that helped Slovenia gain independence

"I will tell something else. Many will probably remember the presentation of our first book in the packed hall of the Union Hotel on June 15, 1989. That was not just an ordinary presentation: it was an event in Slovenian history. In the restless years prior to independence, the Slovenian nation looked hopefully and expectantly toward the coming light of freedom and independence. The appearance of a challenging new book about the origin of the Slovenians that described the true roots of the Slovenian nation, its original identity, and the virtues of its culture and history triggered a wave of approval and enthusiasm in the crowd that quickly spread throughout Slovenia. This is proven by the great success of the book, which was soon sold out."

"Six years have since passed. Step by step, the Slovenian nation won independence, international recognition, and respect in the political, cultural, and economic spheres in Europe and the rest of the world. And I am firmly convinced that we cannot overlook just how much the new self-confidence of the Slovenians, spurred by the Veneti message, has helped achieve this success, after they suddenly felt themselves an autochthonous nation living on their own land, independent of our so-called southern brothers."

"As historical fact, let me just cite Borut Prah, an influential Slovenian-American, who told me, 'Your work at that time was of extreme importance for the recognition of Slovenia as an independent country. In America we needed genuine arguments for secession from Yugoslavia. Information regarding the Veneti theory was of considerable significance and very useful in my contacts with Washington diplomats especially in discussing the recognition of Slovenia in 1991. I must say that the criticism you mention is not particularly important as it offers no valid counter arguments."'

The solution to the Etruscan mystery lies in the Slovenian language

"The Veneti language, and with it our ancestors, must be understood in the context of Indo-European development. This was the greatest convulsion in European prehistory from which new nations and languages emerged. However, these languages were based on already-existing foundations or substrata. Most probably, there was a form of pre-Slavic language used across a large part of Europe. New languages were formed on this foundation, and the oldest of these have the largest number of original Slovenian elements. The Slovenian language is thus the direct continuation of the Veneti language. Indisputable proof of this exists in the ancient geographic names found in Veneti texts. Two years ago, there was a major Etruscan exhibition in Berlin. During this event, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published a long article in which the hope was expressed that science would soon unravel the riddle of the Etruscan language. All attempts so far have been in vain because the solution of the riddle lies only in the Slovene language. After the publication of The Etruscans and the Veneti, there can no longer be any no doubt about it."