German Ambassador Protests Bulgarian Daily Censoring Him

German ambassador to Bulgaria Matthias Hoepfner. Photo by the German Embassy in Sofia, www.sofia.diplo.de

German ambassador to Bulgaria Matthias H?pfner has issued an open letter to major Bulgarian daily Monitor, strongly objecting the paper's toning down an interview of his.

According to the dipomat, the newspaper had cut remarks of his critical of media freedom in Bulgaria in the interview, which came out October 23.

"My interveiw in Monitor provoked some surprise and great concern in me," states H?pfner.

"I have the impression that some of my thoughts were purposefully shortened to avoid a critical clash with the topic of media freedom in Bulgaria," adds he.

The German ambassador argues that this constitutes a skewed perspective on his actual opinion on the matter, and what is more, is yet another sign of the defects of media freedom in Bulgaria.

H?pfner says he spoke about the concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few individuals, as well as about a self-censorship on the part of authors to satisfy the interests of owners, which he both sees as problematic.

Another point of his that Monitor failed to publish was the issue of hidden advertising and paid articles.

The German envoy to Bulgaria stresses the fact that the version of the interview co-ordinated with him did not correspond with the one published, with the latter missing precisely those critical opinions.

H?pfner concludes his letter by saying that "for some time" he will no longer be giving interview to Monitor.

You can read the full letter of ambassador Matthias H?pfner here: (German), (Bulgarian).

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