EPO People Power - Part XXVI - European Media Has Become Part of the Problem
Also see: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX | Part XXI | Part XXII | Part XXIII | Part XXIV | Part XXV
2 days ago we said that readers of ours should pressure via National Representatives (Delegates) the corrupt management of the EPO. António Campinos should be ousted; he should also be held accountable for Cocainegate, not just for all the corruption and for covering up (all the illegal things his friend Benoît Battistelli did).
To put it simply and even bluntly, the EPO as it stands today is just organised crime. It presents itself as professional, but it is just white-collar crime. The law firms don't seem to mind as long as they get to make some money ("on the side") from this corrupt institution and its kangaroo courts. This relates to topics we'll cover in the coming years in relation to British/English libel law and the industry that's built around it. They don't care about the media. They're not media.
Speaking of media, a reader said: "How to apply more pressure? The German media, rightfully criticized by you, probably failed to see the connection with a European institution because Berenguer managed to obscure it when in custody. Journalists cannot intervene in personal affairs unless there's a larger interest by the public at stake. Also: in dubio pro reo."
But it is as clear as daylight that Cocainegate is real; the EPO's management gave that away and it was leaked to us.
Moreover, I spoke to some journalists of supposed 'prestige' (very large publishers) and they don't doubt it happened, sort of like the Serial Strangler from Microsoft put in prison, then suing me to try to hide what had happened. They just tell me they're afraid of EPO SLAPPs.
Have we become Moscow? Is Europe unable to cover corruption in Europe? Is it assumed that there's a political motivation everywhere, and that pro-EU people like ourselves are somehow blasting the EU because of some covert hostility towards the EU? (There's none)
In November we repeatedly asked our readers (especially in Europe) to speak to their national press and insist that it should mention EPO abuses, including Cocainegate. Calling it "old news" isn't acceptable; where have they been until now?
It's not even about Cocainegate when there are many other issues they can cover. They just don't want to. This lack of desire is a form of complicity or, at best, enablement by acceptance and indulgence in apathy, letting bad things carry on (typically under the cover or guise that it's "not in the public interest"). █