Janša dismisses media freedom report as #fakenews
The Balkan Free Media Initiative supports the statement from International Press Institute (IPI) and its partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expressing dismay at Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša’s disparaging tweet about Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović.
On 6 June 2021, Prime Minister Janša said the Commissioner is “part of #fakenews network” in response to her recent memorandum on freedom of expression and media freedom in Slovenia.
BFMI welcomes Mijatović’ memorandumand is also alarmed by the deterioration of media freedom in Slovenia. Earlier this month, we highlighted Slovenian magazine Mladina’s damning exposé on Prime Minister Janez Janša’s influence over editorial policy at some of the country’s most important media outlets.
The article reported that since a meeting between Janša and the owners of PPF, the parent company of Slovenia’s two biggest commercial TV stations, Pop TV and Kanal, media content has been revised to prevent coverage criticising the government.
The statement from IPI and MRFF highlights that the findings of the memorandum align with their own recent fact-finding mission to Slovenia and that Janša’s comments are “wholly inappropriate for a leader of a democratic European state.” BFMI could not agree more. No journalists or individual of any kind should be accused of lying and spreading disinformation by senior public figures when reporting on the failures of the state to uphold media freedoms. Such remarks directly contribute to the hostile environment for journalists in Slovenia and across the Balkans.
In two weeks’ time Slovenia is going to take over as president of the Council of the EU. If it is to inhabit this role with any credibility, Janša must stop his abuse of power and address the serious issues of freedom of expression plaguing Slovenia as uncovered in the memorandum.
Read the full statement here: https://ipi.media/slovenia-pms-fake-news-comment-about-coe-comissioner-condemend/
