An official statement issued Friday confirmed that federal military commanders met in March and considered ways to quell dissent in Slovenia. The statement by Slovenia's Information Ministry followed reports published by the Slovenian youth magazine Mladina that there had been plans for a military takeover of the republic. Slovenia is considered the most liberal of Yugoslavia's six republics and two autonomous provinces. The ministry statement said the federal military council met on March 25 and concluded that ``dissident tendencies'' in Slovenia were part of a foreign-backed conspiracy to overthrow the country's Communist government. But it said there was no discussion at the meeting ``about a plan for action against special warfare in Slovenia.'' The term special warfare refers to subversive actions. The statement did not identify the foreign elements and said Slovenia police later challenged the claim that there was such a conspiracy. It said the police disputed the military council's conclusion at a later meeting between the republic's police authorities and Ljubljana's military command. The police said ``they had no available data which would justify such evaluations,'' according to the ministry statement. It reported the police also said there were no ``subversive forces behind'' articles carried in the Slovenian news media. Slovenia's Communist Party presidium also ``expressed disagreement with part of the military council's opinions,'' said the statement. Some army commanders have been increasingly critical of Slovenia's leadership, saying it should act firmly against political dissidents. And Slovenian Communists have frequently criticized the way the federal government is dealing with the country's economic and social problems. Mladina, the official publication of the Socialist Youth organization, wrote of possible military intervention in its current issue. It published a letter to Slovenia's Communist Party leader Milan Kucan from two student unions that said military action had been planned earlier this year, including the arrests of ``nonconformist journalists, writers and officials.'' The letter said military units would be used to crush demonstrations that were expected to be called to protest the arrests. It also said the army did not notify Slovenia's civilian leadership of the planned intervention. The plan was blocked by Kucan and Stane Dolanc, Slovenia's member in Yugoslavia's collective presidency, after they were told about it by Slovenian security organizations, the letter said. Svetozar Visnjic, commander of Ljubljana's military command, dismissed the reports of planned military action as ``nonsense and a fabrication.'' He made the comment in an interview with the Belgrade Politika Ekspres newspaper.
Slovenia's Information Ministry confirmed today that federal military commanders met in March to consider ways to deal with Slovenian dissidents. The military blamed the dissent on a foreign-backed conspiracy. Slovenia's police and Communist Party disagree. Army commanders have been increasingly critical of Slovenia's leaders, urging them to act firmly against political dissidents. Mladina, the Socialist Youth Organization's publication, wrote Slovenia's Communist Party that the army planned to arrest dissidents and use force in any resulting protest. They added that the civilian government was not notified of the army's intentions. The plan, blocked by Slovenia's president, was denied by the military.