Ljubljana - The management of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) delivered to the government on Thursday business documents that the government maintains are a condition for further financing. STA director Bojan Veselinovič said the move was aimed at "preventing the demise of the STA, and the loss of a hundred jobs".

These are the documents that, according to the STA management, only the government has access to as the sole shareholder in the agency.

The STA noted in the press release that the documents had been delivered despite the government having failed to specify to whom and in what manner they should be delivered after numerous calls from the agency to do so.

The government has been sent all the business documents and data requested in the memos sent by the Government Communication Office (UKOM) last October and November, the STA said.

"However, we did not send answers to questions about the number of interviews, comparison of their length and other questions related to the creative independence of editors, journalists and other authors, which is protected by media legislation."

The STA said it had decided to deliver the documents despite any formal demand by the government because it operated transparently, and expects the government will handle the documents lawfully and respect their confidentiality.

"The management wants to eliminate any possible doubts related to the agency's operations and expects that the government will release the suspended financing."

It added that the law clearly stated the founder was obliged to finance the public service provided by the STA, which is something the government has been violating four months, and the agency had been without payment for public service for 112 days.

The move was welcomed by all three bodies representing the STA staff, who noted that the documents contained business secrets and personal information, so they expect that they will be handled with confidentiality.

Support for the STA staff has been expressed by representatives of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, who said that the STA was a backbone of the Slovenian media market.