Left files complaints against SDS, media, police commissioner

Ljubljana – The opposition Left filed on Wednesday criminal complaints against the ruling Democrats (SDS) and “its media network” for suspicion of a systemic spread of non-truths, leader of the Left’s deputy group Matej T. Vatovec said. The party also pressed charges against Police Commissioner Anton Olaj for suspicion of abuse of office.

The Left believes the SDS is one of the main drivers of the spread of hatred and intolerance, which is nearing a critical point in society.

“The SDS’s actions go beyond all limits that we still deem basic fundamental frameworks of democracy,” Vatovec told today’s press conference, adding that this had been reflected in recent months in the SDS’s attacks on the opposition, including the Left.

He said that the Left had decided to use all legal remedies to defend basic democratic values. The party has pressed charges against an unknown perpetrator for allegations of forging a manifesto that was then attributed to the Left. The party considers the alleged step a way to incite politically-motivated hatred in society.

The manifesto, which the Left denies having authored, was published by a number of news portals that have ties with the SDS. The Left has filed a criminal complaint against these media and their editors-in-chief for suspicion of an offence of publicly inciting hatred in what the party sees as an attempt to discredit it.

Charges were pressed against the portals V Fokusu and e-Maribor, commercial television Nova24TV and weekly Demokracija, among others.

When it comes to the criminal complaint filed against the SDS, the Left said that the coalition party used the manifesto as a way to discredit the Left.

Moreover, the SDS requested an emergency parliamentary session to debate the Left’s programme in what the Left sees as the continuation of orchestrated attacks against the opposition party and their supporters.

The Left accuses Olaj, the police commissioner, of abuse of office. It alleges Olaj used the fake manifesto to launch an investigation against the party for suspicion of inciting a forceful re-writing of the Constitution.

Responding to the developments, Olaj dismissed all the allegations. Pointing out that he had been made aware of the complaint by the media, he told the STA that he could only comment on it after he goes through it.

“We, the police, are used to strong reactions to our work, but I should point out that this work is based only on tasks assigned to us by the current legislation,” he said.

SDS MP Branko Grims said that the Left could have denied the allegations levelled against it at a session the STA had requested. Instead, they have supported the unconstitutional decision to reject the request, he added.

Grims insists both that the Left is violating the constitutional order in its programme and that Speaker Igor Zorčič is required to call a session requested by at least a quarter of MPs in line with the Constitution.

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