WARSAW, December 21 News channel of the Polish state television TVP.info has not been working for the second day due to a dispute between the authorities and the opposition over control over it.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage dismissed the chairmen of the boards of Polish Television, Polish Radio and the Polish News Agency, as well as their supervisory boards. At the same time, the minister appointed new supervisory boards, which will appoint new boards of public media outlets.
Currently, instead of the Polish Television news channel, the tvp1 channel is broadcast, which mainly shows feature films. The Polish Television news website www.tvp.info is also unavailable.
Earlier, the Polish Sejm adopted a resolution on the restoration of law and order, as well as on the impartiality and honesty of public media and the Polish Press Agency. More than 100 MPs from the until recently ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) did not take part in the vote as they went to TVP headquarters to protest. Deputies decided to stand guard at the channel's office to prevent the authorities from taking control of it.
In turn, the chairman of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting (KRRiT), Maciej Świerski, declared the actions of the new authorities of the country illegal.
On Wednesday evening, a protest rally by opposition supporters took place near the Polish Television building, in which ex-Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki took part.
Last week the government changed in Poland. Instead of Morawiecki, Donald Tusk, who had previously led the opposition coalition, became Prime Minister.