The International Press Institute (IPI) has expressed concern at the Slovenian government’s use of diplomatic pressure in response to corruption allegations made in an episode of the Finnish investigative documentary "MOT".
According to IPI, the Slovenian government has been using diplomatic channels to exert pressure on the Finnish government following the broadcast on September 1, 2008 of an episode of the investigative programme "MOT", titled "The Truth About Patria", by the Finnish public broadcasting company YLE.
The documentary alleged that approximately 21 million euros in bribes were paid by the Finnish defence contractor Patria to members of the Slovenian government, including the Slovenian prime minister, Janez Janša, to secure the sale of armoured personnel carriers. The allegations contained in the documentary have been vehemently denied by Janša, who claims that misinformation was fed to the Finnish media by Slovenian journalists.
On September 4, a diplomatic note was sent to the Finnish Embassy in Slovenia by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which the accusations made in the documentary were described as "intolerable" and an "intervention in the Slovenian political campaign prior to the parliamentary elections." The diplomatic note went on to state that such conduct "could shake mutual confidence between the two states" and demanded "appropriate clarification of this matter."
The Finnish foreign minister, Alexander Stubbs, responded to the note by underlining the Finnish media’s independence and freedom from political intervention. A second diplomatic note has since been sent to Stubbs by the Slovenian Foreign Ministry. Although the contents of the second note have not yet been revealed, its tone is believed to be in line with that of the first.
"The diplomatic pressure placed on the Finnish government is an inappropriate way for the Slovenian government to redress their grievances about the Finnish media’s handling of the Patria Affair, particularly since the Slovenian government has already sought a right of reply to the allegations in accordance with the guidelines of the Council for Mass Media in Finland," said IPI Director David Dadge.
"While we make no comment on the content of the original YLE broadcast, we strongly criticise what appear to be attempts by the Slovenian Foreign Ministry to coerce the Finnish government into interfering with or discrediting its domestic media, in defiance of the principal of editorial independence."
