ŽELEZNIKI – SYMBOL OF DISASTER AND SOLIDARITY

Abstract

In the rescue and relief operation for the major floods of 18 September 2007 that affected primarily the north-western parts of Slovenia, for the first time such a large extent in independent Slovenia, alongside firefighters, members of the Civil Protection, the police, Red Cross activists, Caritas, scouts and others, the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) provided technical collaboration. The first part of this article describes the intervention after the damage done by water in Železniki, and in the second part we talk to the commander of the Civil Protection of the Republic of Slovenia, Miran Bogataj and the deputy commanding officer of operations at the SAF Force Command, Lt. Colonel Robert Puš, who is also a member of the Slovenian Civil Protection general staff. The two spoke about the role of the Slovenian Armed Forces in relief operations following natural and other disasters, how the law defines this role and what the experiences were of the SAF and other relief operatives during the intervention in Železniki, the small town that was most affected by water damage on 18 September.