STA, 18 March 2021 - The Slovenian PEN centre has urged the government to fundamentally change its attitude to the STA as well as media and journalists in general, arguing that its actions constituted an attempt at dismantling the agency and silencing a source of trustworthy information.
Expressing "deep concern" about the government's action, the Slovenian PEN said the government was ignoring the institutional independence of the STA and disrespecting its editorial independence, both of which are guaranteed by the law.
Its actions display "a conscious effort to transform Slovenia into an uninformed province in which it will be simply impossible to access objective reports about events in Slovenia and the world, except with the help of foreign media".
It said the agency's contribution was "extraordinarily important" amidst the "cacophony of fake news, politically and otherwise doctored information, hate speech and damaging disinformation that various online platforms are flooding the market with".
The statement comes after government proposed that the STA supervisory board dismiss Bojan Veselinovič as director, alleging violations in the fulfilment of the agency's legal obligations.
Veselinovič has denied all the allegations and highlighted the government decision as a "new chapter in a series of attacks on the independent STA and an attempt to replace its leadership".
