“A journalist of the Slovenian Press Agency (Slovenska tiskovna agencija – referred to as the STA) finally revealed why the director Bojan Veselinovič did not want to hand over the documentation to the Government Communication Office (Urad Vlade Republike Slovenije za komuniciranje – hereinafter referred to as UKOM) – not because of any legal obstacles, which is the excuse the director kept using – but because they were afraid that this documentation would be made public. So, what are they really hiding?” director of the Government Communication Office, Uroš Urbanija, wrote in response to a statement made by the STA journalist Mihal Šuštaršič, who is otherwise known for his vulgar outbursts.
“The trust that is needed to resolve the situation has never developed between the STA and its employees on the one side, and the government and UKOM on the other. This was never a matter of hiding information, but a matter of distrust, as we believed that Urbanija, driven by the desire to exact revenge against his former boss, would abuse this information and make it public for the needs of political reckoning with the employees,” the STA journalist Mihael Šuštaršič told the newspaper Delo.
As is known, UKOM director Uroš Urbanija recently congratulated his journalistic colleague on Twitter when she was elected president by the Journalists’ Trade Union. The union assembly clearly positioned itself when it called on the government to meet its financial obligations immediately and also warned the government to stop pushing the national media outlet RTV into an excessive reduction in its activities, which are below the level set by the law, through financial blackmail.
STA journalist Šuštaršič also responded to Urbanija’s sincere congratulations with a personal attack, as he said some pretty nasty things to Urbanija. However, the journalist Šuštaršič was supposedly known for even more brutal attacks in the past, so Urbanija still got the better end of the deal. On Twitter, Šuštaršič showed off his language skills: “The fucker is congratulating today, and tomorrow he will make sure she is out of a job. At the same time, he keeps insulting her by claiming that she is part of fake news.” Šuštaršič is also the journalist who allegedly immensely hated the former STA editor-in-chief, Borut Meško, and even wanted to physically deal with him.
Allegedly, he also physically threatened the deputy director Robert Gornik. During his time at the faculty, Šuštaršič was an activist of the Young Forum (Mladi forum), the Social Democrats party’s youth organisation, which has supposedly helped him in the confrontations within the Slovenian Press Agency – or at least that is what he bragged about himself. Šuštaršič’s primitive outbursts directed against Urbanija did not end with the tweet we already wrote above. Instead, he added the following: “You lying fucker, none of the citizens have been financing the STA for the past three months. Because of you! Meanwhile, I still pay your full salary, despite the fact you are not even able to look after some sheep, given that your communication “skills” are reflected in 4000+ fresh graves.” Šuštaršič’s latest media coverage can also be understood as a consequence of the weakening of the nerves, which (judging by his hooligan outbursts from the past) are already of a slightly more delicate variety.
Veselinovič also failed in court on his second try
Šuštaršič’s vulgar outbursts were later erased, and he remains employed at the STA as if nothing had happened. With Veselinovič’s recent defeat in court, Šuštaršič’s theories and the theories of his boss regarding the legal obligations of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia are collapsing like a house of cards.
Namely, a few days ago, the District Court Ljubljana has rejected the proposal of the law firm Kozinc and partners, which represents the plaintiff – the Slovenian Press Agency, Ltd. (Slovenska tiskovna agencija, d.o.o – referred to as the STA), to issue a temporary injunction in a dispute against the Government Communication Office. “The court has now told the STA director Bojan Veselinovič for the second time that things cannot go on like this. Unseemly politicking is one thing and working in accordance with the law is another. And the only right way is the legal way,” Urbanija said in his response.
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