By: Dr. Janez Remškar
Dear Mrs Mojca Pašek Šetinc, apparently you are a journalist. I do not know because I have not seen your documents, but I believe you could show them. In contrast to Judge Branko Masleša, who probably cannot show them. Here, I see a challenge for you and your professional colleagues to confirm or dispel doubts. But that does not interest you on the national TV station. In your opinion, the journalists of the public RTV SLO, in the current situation, when the composition of the programme council of RTV SLO is changing, are only left with being professional. I agree. But first, they must become professionals. RTV SLO is not public, but “yours”, as “your” supporters shouted in front of “your” house some time ago. So, it is clear to whom it belongs. Finally, with the latest protests, some of your journalists are proving that you are not undecided. The problem is that the news programme, journalists educated at the FDV, is continuing in the style of your ancestors, former socio-political workers in the service of the Communist Party. Let me remind you of the statement of Comrade Janez Vipotnik, the former director of RTV, who, according to my reliable information, stated at an internal meeting with journalists that journalists are socio-political workers. He said that RTV SLO is a paramilitary institution. Apart from the first few months, the situation in your house did not change during the war of independence, when RTV SLO, with the important role of Jelko Kacin, acted in the interest of all Slovenes. You remain socio-political workers in the service of the party’s successors. This is not professionalism, which in its basic sense of the word means honesty to people.
You started the Utrip show on January 22nd, 2022, with the song Orion by Jure Robežnik, with the text: “In a thousand years, when we will be gone, it will be the same evening as tonight. In the blue sky, distant and bright, again, like tonight, Orion will shine.”. Very symbolic and unambiguous. I believe, dear journalist, that you want everything to remain as it once was, with one mind. On the other hand, you have talked about change.
In a time of covid crisis, in your opinion, humanity is beginning to be rediscovered. For the people, for the most part, if I may, this began after the fall of communism, when we were convinced that we were all equal again, without fear of verbal tort, and we started talking about values again, something we had never heard of before. Do you remember? You continue to ask whether the current period of global catastrophe will not only bring misery to people. Maybe if there is no cooperation.
Under communism, we were convinced that the authorities could not be trusted
You have forgotten to say that the communist revolution has brought us and the world the most misery next to fascism and Nazism over the past 100 years. In the following, you talk about the work of this government and the subordination of all freedoms to medicine and the authorities, which are supposed to exploit the epidemic in vain. You are repeating your left-wing refrain about unconstitutional rule by decrees that the government is supposed to rule, I quote: “walk beyond all common sense!” You are wrong! Read the position (not the opinion) of prof. Dr Lovro Šturm on what is in our constitution, European and world legislation, among human rights in the first place. It is a right to life. And it is in this sense that the government has acted, which, by the way, can also act by decrees. According to you, the government should come to parliament with every proposal and wait for the result of endless debates. In the first and second waves of the epidemic, when we were without drugs and vaccines, that would mean disproportionately more deaths. You also mention the need for humanly convincing communication so that people understand the need for vaccination. I believe that sensible people from the beginning understood and saw what was happening around the world and stuck to action. Only the unreasonable, or rather the irresponsible and politically motivated, need to be, unfortunately without success, re-explained and explained why measures, including vaccination, are important!
All that you have shown in the show is your politically coloured opinion, which in professional terms means nothing. Firstly, the most successful in the first period of the fight against the virus were the countries with the most severe restrictions (Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, not to mention China). You also overheard the statement of Dr Mario Fafangel, who as a native of Trieste in Tarča show said that in Trieste they could only move 200 meters from home and have a soldier in front of the house. Why? Because of the experience in Italy. You have forgotten that Slovenia was among the most successful countries in the first period of the fight against the virus, precisely because of the measures, including decrees? In the show, you then broadcast a statement by the Prime Minister, in your opinion probably misleading, that the countries in Eastern Europe are less successful with vaccination, which he assessed because of communism. Correct! The statement has foundations. These countries are less successful with vaccination. Why? Because of people’s disobedience. Why? Because over the past 50 years of communism, they have learned not to trust the authorities. One generation cannot get rid of this. You also went down to comment on the Prime Minister’s views on Taiwan. According to you, the comment of Janez Janša, with which he defended the right of islanders to self-determination, is harmful. You made an effort and got an interlocutor, a certain Žiga Vaupotič, a representative of the Slovenian Chinese business council. The man approximately calculated without being specific about what the damage was. Your accusations to the Prime Minister are incredible, especially from the mouths of those who always defend any personal freedom. At the beginning of your Utrip show, you mentioned that we are rediscovering humanity during the covid, but unfortunately you forgot that by the end of the show, otherwise, you would not deny the people of Taiwan the right to self-determination, which President Janša emphasised. Are you doing this out of economic interest? Strange that you put this before human rights.
Let me conclude with a commentary on the protest you presented in the show, entitled Glas Ljudstva, on the Republic Square on January 21st, 2022. Tea Jarc emphasised that she has enough populism, deceit, empty promises of the so-called undecided centre. I cannot bear Jarc, in the true sense of the last name, to not have criticism, let me remind you that I and most people have had enough promises of related, left-leaning politicians in the last 15 years on how you will regulate health care.
In conclusion, Mojca Šetinc Pašek, I wish you good health, in addition to the health care you have provided us within the last 15 years. I wish all the participants to fulfil their wish, expressed at the end of the protest, to return to them the welfare state from 30 years ago, together with the care for human health, as we had then in Kanal ob Soči, Celje and Mežica.
Janez Remškar is a doctor and publicist.