By: Domen Mezeg (Nova24TV.si)
“If at the beginning I thought that it was just a matter of impropriety, I now have doubts. Was it even a police task? Which good was at risk? It would be very sensible for the Slovenian police to supplement their public announcement (Article 34 of the Police Duties and Powers Act) and reassure the citizens,” wrote former police director general Anton Olaj in response to the recent search for Jože Možina by the police.
Let us remember: in a time when public broadcasting became “free”, things that truly resemble different times began to appear under the guise of depoliticisation… For unknown reasons, the police searched for journalist Jože Možina at RTV. We wonder if we still have a police force in Slovenia, or are we getting a militia again? “Today, two uniformed police officers searched for me as the editor of Intervju on RTV. Is this called intimidation, political pressure on a journalist, a path to dictatorship, an attack on freedom of speech…?”
“Is there any other term? Is this now the new standard of FREEDOM at RTV Slovenia?” said Možina a few days ago (here – in Slovene). The controversial actions of the uniformed officers were strongly condemned by the Association of Journalists and Publicists, who stated that this is a practice of undemocratic societies (here – in Slovene). Možina recently revealed in a short video that the police visit might have been related to his recent interview in which he hosted the writer Ivan Sivec, who spoke about how the work of an autonomous media outlet was once interfered with by Milan Kučan (here – in Slovene).
What the police did was not even allowed during the Tito era!
It is said that this strongly angered the latter, prompting him to resort to methods he might have used as a former party leader. Experts have pointed out this possibility to Možina. This matter is concerning. Recall that Kučan reportedly pursued journalist Igor Pirkovič and the Arena programme recently (here – in Slovene). Prominent SDS member Vinko Gorenak said, “Regarding the search for Jože Možina at RTV Slovenia, let me note this. During the time of hard socialism, such actions by the police were prohibited. There were clear instructions on how to handle such cases in both companies and public institutions. Nothing without the management’s knowledge…”