The current situation in Poland, which is widely described by media around the world, does not leave the Poles passive. Here are the most significant elements of this situation:
- capturing the state structures by one political option – party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS – Law and Justice)
- lack of independence of the most important bodies of state authority (parliament, prime minister, president) which are obedient performers of the leader of PiS Jaroslaw Kaczyński demands
- violation of the Constitution
- attempt to reduce the role of the Constitutional Court which was set up to guarantee the compliance with the law
- contempt and arrogance towards the opposition and people who think differently
and – last but not least:
- gaining a total control by the government over the media (radio, television – the press is so far mostly private).
Since January 7th, 2016 an already former public television is managed by a man, Jacek Kurski, who once, advising PiS in election campaigns, created the slogan “The rabble [ignorant crowd] will believe”. In protest against “distortion” of the ruling authority a Committee for the Defense of Democracy (CODE – Polish: Komitet Obrony Demokracji – KOD) has been established. Its name refers to the famous Workers’ Defense Committee (Komitet Obrony Robotników – KOR), which in its activity years 1976-1977 consisted of the leaders of the subsequent anti-communist opposition.
“The rabble [ignorant crowd] will believe”
On January 9, 2016 r. KOD organized in many cities (also in some abroad) rallies in defence of freedom of the media.
“Bring back the freedom to the public media”
It is significant to note that at last “objective” (as claimed by the authority) media reported about it very briefly, or not reported at all. The Polish Radio Program 3 (formerly, in PRL period addressed for restless intelligencia) did not mention it either in the morning news services or at 6 pm (“objectively” speaking, due to my absence in the house, I can’t say whether information was given about this at other hours – RG). Do such rallies have any political impact? Practically (yet?) none, but they deprive the ruling party of the pleasant argument about representation of the will of the entire nation. And they are an important support for those defending democratic order.
If therefore today the foreign media are mentioning “Poland” in a very negative context, it should be known that Polish society is not a monolith, quite the contrary. Poland is still painfully and permanently broken into two parts, while the pro-government one hates the other (including bikers and vegetarians 😉 ), the latter promotes the slogan “We will not let split us [the nation]!”
“You will not split us!”
So the Netherlanders (and other nations) should not therefore criticize Poland unthinkingly, just cross the fingers for the country for a quick return to the path of normality and law standards, to which obliges, among other things, the membership in the European Union.
The images used in this article were made by Renata Głuszek during the rally in defence of freedom of the media, which was held on January 9th, 2016 in Katowice, the capital of Upper Silesia.
GALLERY
“TV News – cenzorship”
“You will not shout our mouth, you will not make us blind – we will not keep silence while you break our freedom!”
Popular actor Mirosław Neinert is reading a piece of “1984” by Orwell
Free media # KOD
Singing “Ode to joy”
“Freedom…” – born to be free?
Good change?
“We can!” (the yellow duck refers to Jarosław Kaczyński, a leader of PiS; kaczka = duck)
In the background – a monument commemorating legendary skauts of Katowice who in September 1939 fought against Germans
Participants: older and younger
and from the above – Prof. Władysław Bartoszewski
“Worth to be a decent person”
Renata Głuszek
Afbeelding: Renata Głuszek