Mum’s the word in the «Ingstad» case

Norwegian Minister of Defence, Frank Bakke-Jensen, critisises the media

Bakke-Jensen critical of media in the «Helge Ingstad» case

The Norwegian Minister of Defence, Frank Bakke-Jensen (Conservatives), criticizes the media coverage of the wrecked «KNM Helge Ingstad» and suggests that they «distorts» the case.

 

Bakke-Jensen tells NRK that he believes media coverage of the wrecking «conceals, colours, make-up and distorts» the case and that the media should rather await the Norwegian Accident Commission’s report. The Commission itself has announced that the process will take a long time and that the report may not be finished before one year from now.

– The press should wait for the Accident Commission’s report. It is clear that the press must be curious and check those in power, but it is unreasonable to claim that we are conducting secrecy when we do not go out with information that we simply do not possess, the Minister of Defence says under the debate program «Debatten» on NRK.

Heated discussion

Following a previous interview with an NRK journalist, the Minister ended up in a heated discussion about the media coverage of the wrecked Frigate KNM «Helge Ingstad». The journalist defends the media’s illumination of the case, while Bakke-Jensen’s view is that the media should patiently wait for the report.

– This reveals that we have a Minister of Defence who obviously does not understand the role of the press in our society. He does not understand that it is a prerequisite for our liberal democracy that we have a press with the skills and capacity to scrutinise those in power, retired Flag Commander Jacob Børresen of the Royal Norwegian Navy, tells NRK.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today