The Polish government has illegally suspended the broadcasting of a public television news channel

"The government of Donald Tusk, Poland's new prime minister, suspended the broadcasting of public television news channel TVP Info on Wednesday, the Polish Ministry of Culture said.

 

Added a comment from the President of Poland

 

Earlier on Wednesday, Poland's new government announced it was firing the management of public media outlets that had been seen as government mouthpieces during the Law and Justice (PiS) rule.

 

The chairmen and boards of national television TVP, Polish Radio and news agency PAP have been fired, the Polish Ministry of Culture said in a statement.

 

The reason for this decision is given on Tuesday's parliamentary resolution on "restoring legal order and the impartiality and reliability of public media".

 

The government also appointed new supervisory boards, which in turn appointed new management teams for media companies.

 

A TVP reporter has vowed to end the "propaganda soup" in the news. The statement, made on TVP1 Wednesday night by Polish journalist Marek Czysz, who was once expected to leave TVP but now appears to be returning, came at the end of a troubled day for the national broadcaster.

 

"No Polish citizen who finances the activities of public television is obliged to listen to anyone's propaganda," said Mr. Czyz.

 

"Every Polish citizen who finances public media has the right to demand reliable, professional and honest information from it. Therefore, I offer you (...) a fair contract - from tomorrow "News" will provide you with "pictures" of the world and everything that this day will bring," he said.

 

He announced that "instead of propaganda soup, we want to offer clean water - not because it is noble, but because it does not have an aggressive taste."

 

"There won't be a newscast today, but we'll bring you the TVP newscast tomorrow - definitely at 7 p.m. 30 minutes (local time, 20:30 Lithuanian time)", added M. Czyz.

 

On Wednesday morning, TVP Info's broadcast was interrupted on air and online.

 

"The end of TVPiS," declared the new government's largest party, Civic Platform, on the X social network after TVP Info was suspended.

 

Poland's President Andrzej Duda said on Thursday that the country's culture minister had violated the constitution by terminating the broadcasting of TVP Info, the national television news channel, and firing the management of public media outlets.

 

"I would very much like to see decency in public life and the rule of law in Poland," the Polish leader told private broadcaster Radio Zet on Thursday. "What happened yesterday, unfortunately, completely contradicts that, because yesterday Minister (Bartlomiej) Sienkiewicz clearly violated the constitution."

 

"It cannot be the case that the Seimas adopts resolutions and these resolutions, in the opinion of the constitutional minister, change or partially amend the laws," he added.

 

According to PiS ally A. Duda, the statutory body responsible for public media is the National Media Council, as the law has not been changed in any way."

 

"If the prime minister, his colleagues and ministers want to change the legal rules for appointing public media institutions, go ahead, but first you need to change the law, not the act passed by the Seimas, which is not a legal act that does not create a binding law," he said.

 

At that time, PiS legislators organized a sit-in in public television buildings, and party officials posed for photos with television staff."