Sedem mednarodnih organizacij za svobodo medijev je v pismu notranjemu ministru Alešu Hojsu v ponedeljek izrazilo zaskrbljenost za varnost preiskovalnega novinarja in sodelavca Novinarjev brez meja Blaža Zgage, ki je tarča sovražne kampanje in groženj, odkar je na vlado naslovil vprašanje glede kriznega štaba za boj proti novemu koronavirusu.
Novinarji brez meja so se za objavo pisma, ki ga je podpisalo še šest mednarodnih organizacij za svobodo medijev, na svoji spletni strani danes odločili, ker nanj do danes niso prejeli odgovora.
V njem so izrazili zaskrbljenost zaradi varnosti novinarja, ki prejema tudi anonimne grožnje s smrtjo preko spleta. V pismu so slovensko vlado tudi pozvali, da novinarjem zagotovi pravico do svobodnega in neodvisnega poročanja o sedanji zdravstveni krizi, kot tudi, da jim zagotovi odprt dostop do informacij, so zapisali.
Pod pismo so se poleg Novinarjev brez meja podpisale še organizacije Člen 19, Evropski center za svobodo tiska in medijev (ECPMF), Neomejeni svobodni tisk (FPU), Indeks cenzure, Mednarodni institut za tisk (IPI) ter Svetovna medijska organizacija WAN-IFRA.
Novica STA
Tako zveni novica STA, ki jo je, med zelo redkimi, povzel Dnevnik. Originalno pismo sedmih medijskih organizacij objavljam spodaj.
O grožnjah in šikaniranju novinarja sem pisal v Želja in neželja in deloma v Idila sredi epidemije: o štirih jezdecih demokracije.
Pomenljiva je bila reakcija predsednika vlade: po tistem, ko je v preteklih dnevih oporekal številnim uredniškim odločitvam in komentiral številne medije, tudi grozil RTV Slovenija, je tokrat samo objavo zgoraj pospremil s komentarjem, da se Slovenska tiskovna agencija (STA) spreminja v ventilator za lažne novice.
Slovenski mediji se dokaj mlačno odzivajo na pozive mednarodnih institucij v zadnjih dnevih. Velja spomniti na mandat 2004-2008, ko je bilo Slovensko tiskovno agencijo potrebno dokončno uravnotežiti in za te namene pripeljati novega človeka, zelo prostovoljno pa so v Janševe roke padali kot domine še RTV Slovenija, Večer, Delo, Slovenske novice, Primorske novice in drugi. To je bil čas, o katerem še danes ne boste slišali poštene besede iz ust novinarjev in urednikov.
Leta 2007 je bila za novo direktorico STA imenovana Alenka Paulin, pred tem zaposlena v uradu predsednika vlade Janeza Janše kot svetovalka za stike z javnostmi. Pred njenim prihodom sem zapisal: »Funkcijo naj bi prevzela 1. junija. Paulinova ima nesporno strankarsko preteklost in po nekaterih podatkih se je v zadnjih mesecih znova včlanila v SDS. Leta 2000 je bila v času Bajukove vlade direktorica vladnega urada za informiranje, nato tiskovna predstavnica takrat še opozicijske SDS in članica izvršilnega odbora SDS, po razhodu z SDS je bila nosilka liste Stranke mladih Slovenije in Zelenih Slovenije za evropske volitve, nazadnje pa tiskovna predstavnica KD Group Matjaža Gantarja.
Konec 2006 je prišla znova v službo k Janezu Janši. Spomnimo, da so STA pomemben servis in vir za informacije celotne medijske mreže, ker z njimi oskrbujejo druge medije in ti velikokrat po njej zgolj povzamejo novico. Kar poročajo STA, velja za primarni vir. S svojimi informacijami servisirajo tudi tujino, kar bo pomemben element pri predsedovanju EU, pri katerem goji oblast vse upe, da bo napravila močan pečat in hkrati prikrila vse nečednosti, ki jih je storila in jih še počne. V trenutni situaciji politične strahovlade v slovenskih medijih je lahko razlaga za odločitev za zamenjavo na čelu agencije le ena sama.«
Pismo sedmih medijskih organizacij
Dear Mr. Minister,
I write to you regarding the situation of Mr. Blaž Zgaga, a Slovenian freelance investigative journalist based in Ljubljana.
Mr. Zgaga has received death threats following a freedom of information request he rightfully addressed to the Government’s Secretary-general in order to get information on the functioning and structure of the newly founded Crisis Headquarters of the Republic of Slovenia (Krizni štab Republike Slovenije), in charge of combatting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Instead of getting a standard response, his request was met with a preoccupying retweet from the official account of this very same Crisis Headquarters, which declared Mr. Zgaga part of a group of « 4 patients who escaped from quarantine », adding that these four patients had « a Covid-Marx/Lenin virus », as an exaggerated and allusive way to mention Mr. Zgaga’s criticism of the far-right ruling party, Slovenska demokratska stranka (SDS).
In addition to this defamatory attack, the SDS-owned media Nova24TV initiated a smear campaign against the journalist, after he had sent his freedom of information request, with an article depicting him as a « (pseudo-) journalist of the deep State (…) fearful of losing (his) privileges ».
Unfortunately, this attack was not isolated, as another SDS-owned media, weekly magazine Demokracija, joined the smear campaign against Mr. Zgaga by publishing the same article and targeting him simply for exercising his journalistic activity. Finally – and even worse -, anonymous internet users are now threatening him with death, saying « he must literally be shot! ».
Mr. Zgaga now fears for his life after the declarations made by your Government’s supporters, likening him to an enemy of the State.
Mr. Zgaga is a best-selling author and a distinguished journalist, who has worked for Slovenia’s main dailies and whose articles have appeared in The Guardian, The Observer, USA Today, The Globe as well as many other renowned newspapers. He also happens to be a member of the prestigious International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and has been awarded several journalistic distinctions for his work, including a New York Press Club Award for Journalism, reflecting the quality and seriousness of his activity, as well as his work ethic.
Despite the particular context in which Slovenia and other countries currently find themselves, State authorities should not use the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to prevent journalists from doing their work. Journalistic reporting is vital for our societies, especially at this time, in the midst of a health crisis where false information is spread very quickly. Your government has a responsibility to protect the press and to ensure journalists their right to report freely and independently, but also a duty to guarantee journalists an open access to information.
Next year, Slovenia will be holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December. Your country will be under great scrutiny ahead of and during this presidency. We therefore call on your government to ensure that freedoms of expression and information, which are protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental rights, are respected.
We respectfully urge you to do everything in your power to guarantee Mr. Zgaga’s safety and to ensure the death threats and attacks against him are treated with the utmost seriousness by the Slovenian police, in order for his journalistic activity to continue without him having to fear for his life.
Sincerely,
Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders
with co-signatories:
Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
International Press Institute (IPI)
ARTICLE 19
Index on Censorship
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