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Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_08_št.12 - Index

ThetruthabouTPatria
The common denominators of the interviewees in the programme
are either business relations with the unsuccessful bidder Sistemska
tehnika or active engagement in the opposition election campaign.
Assistance to Mr Berglund in the selection of contributors to the
programme was provided by journalist Blaž Zgaga, who has also
been his guide around Slovenia.
- Blaž Zgaga is known in Slovenia for having drawn up a petition
against the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. In a key moment
during the preparations for Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council
of the European Union in the autumn of 2007, he distributed
the petition to a number of recipients across Europe and around
the world. In the petition he stated that Slovenia’s Presidency with
Janez Janša at the helm of Slovenia’s Government could be a worrying
sign for the present, and even more so, for the future of the
European Union. A similar message was disseminated at around
the same time by the Social Democrats in their document entitled
Slovenija danes – ocena stanja (‘Slovenia Today - Assessment of
the Situation’). In Slovenia, 90% of the print media is owned by
two media oligarchs, one of whom is a member of the opposition
party Liberal Democracy, while the other was until recently a member
of the Social Democrats, also an opposition party.
Several facts, all of which can be confirmed, suggest that the news
about the alleged corruptive actions of the Slovenian Prime Minister
is a predetermined and well coordinated campaign by individuals
on both Slovenian and Finnish sides:
- Nedeljski dnevnik weekly, which is owned by a member of the
opposition party Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, announced as
early as 28 August that “everything is ready for the big bang”, and
that “this will come from Finland”, and that some Slovenian politicians
were facing “an inevitable encounter with Finnish laws”.
- Rok Praprotnik, journalist for the Dnevnik daily newspaper,
owned by the same person, visited Finland one day before the
programme was released, and pre-recorded interviews that would
fill the media immediately after the release of the bombastic news
of the alleged corruption affair. A few weeks before that, in his
appearance for YLE, he had already implicated Mr Janša in the Patria
affair by saying that this was a very sensitive topic as far as Mr
Janša was concerned, and that we should not forget the fact that
general elections would be held in Slovenia in September.
- At the very moment when the programme started on Finish
TV1 (20.00 local time), the Slovenian commercial TV station POP
TV (19:00 local time) reported breaking news that Finnish television
had accused the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša of
accepting bribes. This happened less than half an hour before
the actual accusation of Mr Janša accepting a bribe was reported
in the programme aired on Finnish TV. - In an interview for the
Slovenian national television, the journalist Magnus Berglund
said that he had designed the show for Finnish viewers, as the
topic was very important to Finland. In doing so, he said, “he
did not pay any attention to what was happening in Slovenia
just ahead of the elections.” Judging by the first response by the
Finnish public, the programme did not seem upsetting. The Finnish
public, however, regained interest in the programme after
the magnitude of the unsubstantiated accusations directed at the
Prime Minister of an EU Member State had become clear. In Slovenia,
the situation was completely different, as the programme
immediately met with uproar and has had a major impact on the
pre-election period.
The discussion initiated by the programme on channel TV1 continuously
stressed freedom of expression. Independent journal-
sinfo 12 6
ism is doubtless the core standard of democracy, to which both
Slovenia and Finland must adhere.
This applies also to the international established standards of journalism
which, in our view, were severely breached in this case.
Mr Berglund violated the IFJ Declaration of Principles on the Conduct
of Journalists. He also breached the principles of conduct
adopted by Finnish journalists, particularly Article 12, which says:
“Information sources must be approached critically. This is particularly
important in controversial issues, since the source of the
information may have an intention for personal gain or to damage
others.” The choice of interviewees and the conclusion of the
programme, where the journalist accuses the Prime Minister of the
Republic of Slovenia of accepting a bribe, without substantiating
this statement, demonstrates the breach of standards.
On 2 September the Government Communication Office of the
Republic of Slovenia asked the CEO of the Finnish Broadcasting
Company YLE, Mikael Jungner, to present proof of the accusations
made in the programme The Truth about Patria or to apologise
to the Finnish and Slovenian public on behalf of his company. The
CEO declined to reply himself and referred the matter to TV1's
Channel Controller, whose reply, however, did not include either
proof or apology.
In view of the magnitude of the accusations and proven unreliability
of sources, the Slovenian Government calls on the Finnish
broadcaster once again to substantiate its claims with indisputable
proof. If it possesses such evidence, YLE has the responsibility to
present it to be judged by the Finnish and Slovenian public, just as
it presented its accusations.
When the programme was aired on YLE, this completely shocked
the Slovenian public. The election campaign immediately shifted
from a debate about Slovenia’s future to a debate about the bribes.
The accused Prime Minister cannot even defend himself properly,
as he is not familiar with what exactly he is accused of. The accusations
launched from Helsinki in the middle of the election
campaign in Slovenia have further divided the Slovenian public.
Such division is exceedingly harmful to the country. The reputation
Slovenia has been building with great efforts ever since it became
independent in 1991 has been blemished. The reputation of Finland
is also blemished in the eyes of the Slovenian public. Reports
about suspicions of corrupt activity in Finland’s state-owned company
contradict the impression of high ethical standards in Finland
and, of course, in Slovenia. According to the Slovenian Minister of
Defence, the contract on the purchase of Patria’s 8x8 AMVs will be
annulled immediately if even the slightest suspicion of corruption
during any stage of the procurement procedure is proven. The airing
of serious accusations on a Finnish national broadcaster without
providing a shred of proof makes the Slovenian public wonder
how it can be possible to blame somebody of a grave criminal
offence, while claiming that these allegations won’t be substantiated
in order to protect one’s journalist sources. Sources can be
protected in many ways that allow the evidence to be presented
to the public.
We expect that this entire statement will be broadcast as soon as
possible on TV1 in a similar time slot as the programme Mot: The
Truth about Patria. We also expect the statement to be published
on the YLE website in Finnish and English.
Yours sincerely, Anže Logar Director of the Government
Communication Office