By: Sara Kovač / Nova24tv
Director of the Government Communication Office Uroš Urbanija addressed a public letter to the management of RTV Slovenia regarding statements and contributions on Russia’s attack on Ukraine. After Russia brutally invaded Ukraine, it has repeatedly been concluded that public house’s journalists are strongly on the side of the Russian occupying forces in this conflict. “This is extremely unethical, because in the present conflict it is quite clear who is the victim and who is the one who carries out the aggression,” he pointed out.
Continuing the letter, Uroš Urbanija pointed out that, in his opinion, the statement of journalist Edvard Žitnik seemed almost unbelievable, who stated, among other things: “If it is true that Russian tanks will continue to advance at the current pace, they can already be in the capital Kyiv today. If we disregard the psychological aspect of the fall of the capital, then it is not difficult to imagine an escape, the overthrow of the current government and the establishment of a new, pro-Russian one, whatever it may be called. But let’s not praise the day before the evening, only remember Iraq and Afghanistan, the country is relatively easy to occupy with the military machinery, but the real problems often only start when the tanks go silent”.
Urbanija is convinced that Boris Vasev’s article entitled “The government’s readiness to accept Ukrainian refugees is not an expression of its humanity, on the contrary”, published on the MMC portal on February 27th, 2022, is similarly rejected. “The author of the article is Boris Vasev, known for his numerous anti-Semitic statements and public mobbing, insulting, and humiliating colleagues. In his comment, he violated all norms of journalistic ethics and general standards of humanity, humanity, and solidarity,” he said, adding that otherwise he understands that commentary is a free genre in which the author expresses his personal views, but insulting and spreading hate speech have no place in the medium paid for by all citizens.
According to Urbanija, the whole world is currently looking at what is happening in Ukraine, the many lives that ended too quickly, the sad fate of some families leaving their homes and are separated by war. “Already in the introduction to the above-mentioned article, the author Vasev writes that accepting refugees from Ukraine is not a humanitarian act, but a racist act,” criticised Urbanija, adding that the written words were reprehensible. “Furthermore, in the article, the author describes the statement of government representatives that a significant part of the Ukrainian population is withdrawing to neighbouring countries and that a certain share of refugees will have to be taken over by Slovenia, as racism. In his article, the author divides refugees into “real” and “false” and problematises that refugees from Ukraine are whites, Christians.” According to Urbanija, by dividing refugees into “real” and “false”, the author tramples on all elements of humanity.
It is an extremely perverted writing
Urbanija points out that the author’s distinctly hostile rhetoric also does not differ much from the vocabulary used by Putin in his war propaganda. Namely, Vasev allowed himself to compare the Slovenian government with the Nazis, just as Putin does with the Ukrainian government. “Vasev even describes the help of the government of the Republic of Slovenia to innocent children from Ukraine as “pure, unfiltered form of institutional racism,” he said, pointing out that this is extremely perverted writing, which should not exist within the central national media.
“Dear management of RTV Slovenia, we are interested in whether you think that contributions such as the contribution of Boris Vasev, which encroach on humanity, are on the level that Slovenian taxpayers expect and want from the public institution RTV Slovenia? So, is it acceptable in your medium for an individual to spread hate speech? Is it acceptable for journalists to use the same rhetoric as Putin’s for propaganda purposes?” he wrote at the end of the letter, adding that he was convinced that such statements were not only to the detriment of the media house but, ultimately, the laws.