In the evening, they protested in Warsaw and several other Polish cities in defense of the US-owned television news channel TVN24, protesting a planned amendment to the Polish media law, which many say was directed against the channel.
At the Warsaw demonstration, which can be followed live on TVN24, approx. 2000 people attended. Next spoke: Donald Tusk, president of the European People’s Party, who took the helm of Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), in early July.
He read a statement issued by the Labor Party on Free Media, which said, “They want to end independent media because they realize that their most dangerous opponent is the truth.” Under the slogan “Media Freedom, Free People”, demonstrations were organized to some extent by several Polish NGOs in other cities.
Photo: Janek Skarczynski/AFP
The amendment to the law, which sparked protests and will be on the agenda of Poland’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday, will change the rules under which operating licenses are granted to foreign-owned media. The new rules will clarify the mandate of companies incorporated in European Economic Area (EEA) countries so that these entities cannot rely on a legal entity outside the European Economic Area.
Critics of the draft say the amendment is intended to prevent TVN24 from working.
The Polish National Board of Radio and Television, which decides to register private radio and television channels and monitors freedom of expression, voted in July to operate the license for TNV24, which is owned by Discovery in the US but officially registered in the Netherlands at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and overseen by Polish Television Holding BV. KRRiT).
The result of the vote was a tie, and the board did not receive Karam precisely because of TVN24’s ownership. The authorization process will be announced as announced. TVN24’s operating license expires on September 26, and the company applied for an extension last February.
A group of US senators also spoke out against the planned amendment to the media law last week, warning their politicians in their speech about restrictions on media freedom, considering that there are potential negative consequences for Polish-American relations as well.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reiterated his previous position that the proposal is not directed against any specific channel operator, as it is aimed at avoiding the risks involved in the Polish media’s acquisition of companies such as Russia or China.
The Bill and Justice (PiS) leading Polish ruling coalition is backed neither by the opposition nor by any of the coalition’s smaller partners, the Consensus Party. Due to differences within the coalition, Morawiecki on Tuesday began replacing party chief Jaroslav Gwin, deputy prime minister. (MTI)
