Zlatan Čordić, who is known as rapper Zlatko, attacked a Nova24TV cameraman and stole his camera, our journalists reported from Friday’s cycling protest. The cameraman told us that this was an obvious attack on an employee of Nova24TV. The director of Nova24TV, Boris Tomašič, as well as the editor-in-chief of Nova24TV, Aleksander Rant, and the editor-in-chief of Demokracija, Jože Biščak, have all commented on the attack.
According to the reports, the police had to speak to rapper Zlatko and convince him to return the camera to the cameraman. Our journalists reported that the cameraman was in complete shock because of the violent rapper. It is clear that this was a deliberate act, as the mob – the people who consider themselves to be protesters – surrounded our cameraman, started attacking him, and rapper Zlatko stole his camera. “Zlatko physically attacked the cameraman, and the police had to intervene,” RTV Slovenija journalist Aljoša Masten reported from the protests.
Posnetek celotnega incidenta, ko reper Čordić iztrga iz rok kamero snemalcu Nova24TV. Boljša kvaliteta. pic.twitter.com/bcZMPQ5anZ
— Luka Svetina (@LukaSvetina) October 17, 2020
Editor-in-chief of the Nova24TV television, Aleksander Rant, published his thoughts on the situation on Twitter: “Well, so much for peaceful protesters. Tonight, the protesters clearly and intentionally surrounded the Nova24TV cameraman, and Zlatan Čordić snatched the camera from his arms. They did this to a man who does not create the media content, who has nothing with the orientation of our programme; they did it to a man who was simply filming the protests. So much for Janša’s dictatorship and attacks on the media. The only media attack that has happened so far, and was even physical, was the attack on Nova24TV, by the people whose violence and intolerance are the only real threat to democracy in Slovenia!”
“This is what it looks like when you are simply doing your job, but because you work for Nova24TV, you first get surrounded by the protesters, and then Zlatko snatches the camera from your hands. So much for the attacks on the media. Thank you, Marjan Šarec, Tanja Fajon, Alenka Bratušek, and Luka Mesec, for inciting against those who think differently than you do and thank you for supporting the violence of the street!” Rant added.
Director of Nova24TV, Boris Tomašič, also commented on what happened, writing: “Violence and primitivism are the only programme of the leftists,” Tomašič stated, adding that they will be filing a criminal complaint against Čodrić.
Tomašič also said that he expects Čordić’s attack on the Nova24TV cameraman to be the main topic in the news on RTV Slovenija and POP TV on Saturday. “Of course, I expect this to be the main topic on RTV Slovenija and 24 ur tomorrow. I am expecting a strong condemnation of what happened. And the Slovene Association of Journalists will surely internationalise the matter.”
The reason for the attack was the fact that the cameraman works for Nova24TV
The cameraman who was attacked told Nova24TV that he had already been filming the illegal anti-government protests in the Republic Square for a while before the incident happened. Čodrić also gave a speech in front of the gathered radicals, in which he was critical of the government, and also mentioned the masks. Given that Čordić himself refuses to wear a mask, it is clear what his intentions were. When Čordić’s speech ended, the Nova24TV cameraman continued filming, as the protests continued, even though Čordić’s speech has ended.
Čordić approached our cameraman and asked him to stop filming, saying that he has children at home. When Čodrić kept pressuring the cameraman, a group of ten to 15 masked protesters gathered around them, showing support for Čodrić, who at this point asked if the cameraman was from Nova24TV. When the cameraman confirmed that he was, in fact, an employee of Nova24TV, Čordić demanded that he delete the recordings. The cameraman rejected this silly request, as it is his job, after all, to document what happens and not delete the recordings.
Čordić then reached for the camera, the two pulled back and forth for a bit, and the gathered protesters closed the ring around our cameraman. The police intervened, and one of the law enforcement officers got hold of the camera. The cameraman told us that the camera stopped recording soon after it was taken from him, but luckily, all of the footage remained intact.
Our journalist Luka Svetina published the recording that the cameraman made on Twitter, writing: “I am publishing the exclusive recording that our cameraman had made. The recording clearly shows that rapper Zlatko, who did not comply with the measure of mandatory wearing of masks outdoors and the restriction of gatherings of more than five people, hit the camera and snatched it from our cameraman’s hands, even though the cameraman was only doing his job.” You can watch the video HERE.
As is evident from what our cameraman had told us, this was a deliberate attack on an employee of Nova24TV.
The inciting of the mainstream media
»After the verbal attacks of the leftists on Demokracija and Nova24TV and their incitements, the violence has now obviously materialized with the physical attack on the Nova24TV cameraman. It comes as no surprise that he was attacked by Zlatan Čordić, a rapper who considers himself to be an artist. When a man looks at him and listens to what he is saying, he can easily recognize a street bully in Čodrić, who can hardly stop himself from causing a scene or attacking someone. This time, it ended with a stolen camera; however, I am worried that Zlatko and other similar left-wing fanatics will draw their knives next time,« the editor-in-chief of Demokracija, Jože Biščak, commented on the attack on the Nova24TV cameraman, adding:
»It is interesting that yesterday, the Slovenian Press Agency (Slovenska tiskovna agencija – hereinafter referred to as the STA) was appalled by Prime Minister Janez Janša’s post on Twitter, in which he called the national press agency a national disgrace. He posted this after I, myself, wrote that I am disappointed in STA, as it allocated more space for the promotion of the rapper Čordić’s new album than for an article about the start of construction of the Cirkovce-Pince power line. Today, this man, who is not only being promoted by the STA but also by the national television, attacked the Nova24TV cameraman and snatched the camera from his hands. It is clear that it is a shame, not only for the STA but also for RTV Slovenija, to give media support to a known bully and a very impatient person. I am also interested in how the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which attacked the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša today, will react. But, you know what, I don’t expect anything from them. They are the same progressive mob as most of the mainstream media.”
Ivan Šokić, Demokracija
