(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 01 GIU - Boris Pahor "was a genuine EU enthusiast, and he will be an inspiration even after his death.

He will always be present among us as a moral authority. With his life experience, he positively intervened in the world, in Trieste, Slovenia, and Europe." There is hope he will "inspire the new generations to live in a peaceful Europe, based on cooperation. We hope this will be the legacy of Boris Pahor." So said Slovenia's President Borut Pahor on the sidelines of a ceremony organized this evening at the Narodni Dom in Trieste to remember the Slovenian writer with Italian citizenship.

Boris Pahor, the president added, was "a significant personality for our country's growth after independence": "always sharp, yet always present to give suggestions to build a more beautiful and peaceful world." Speaking before a crowded hall, in a ceremony attended by local authorities and the writer's family members, Borut Pahor underlined how the writer "embodied the Slovenian national experience of the 20th century." "He embodied," he added, "the resistance against totalitarianism. And he had found in the Slovenian collective consciousness the anchor of his moral integrity. Thanks to Pahor, the Slovenian political renaissance was so European from the very beginning." The ceremony began with a minute's silence and an image of the writer on a screen. Then, it continued with readings from his works. Finally, an album at the entrance collected the signatures of those arriving. Among them was President Pahor's.

"Boris Pahor has been and will remain, thanks to his works, an authoritative memory, a witness of freedom and human rights, and a penetrating voice always capable of reawakening our consciences. He will leave a precious legacy for the future growth of the new generations," underlined the mayor of Trieste, Roberto Dipiazza. "Today, we are celebrating a person who has left us - added FVG Regional Councilor Pierpaolo Roberti - but what he testified will always survive for future generations." (ANSA).