The attack on TV Republika does not consist of random actions but is carefully planned and orchestrated. It all started when we spoke up for the victims of the flood and asked about the money transferred to WOŚP for their aid. And then the machinery was set in motion – Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski demanded that Republika’s license be revoked, TVN prepared a television smear piece, and finally, Jerzy Owsiak struck at the station’s finances by intimidating its advertisers.
Many actors in this spectacle carry the faint stench of ties to the military security services that controlled the media in the Third Republic of Poland. And the titular words about an attack on the Republic should be understood in two ways – it is about removing the most serious obstacle in the process of liquidating the independence of the Republic of Poland.
Republika broke the media monopoly of the Third Republic, reaching millions of Poles with a patriotic and pro-independence message. It gained influence that even PiS failed to take over, and its success, at a time of political repression against the opposition, became a threat to Donald Tusk’s government. It was thanks to Republika that Poles heard about political prisoners, the destruction of the army, and the economic dismantling of the state.
Police blockade and unlawful repression
The authorities do not hesitate to take brutal actions. The police surrounded Republika’s headquarters and detained former minister Zbigniew Ziobro, even though the Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the parliamentary investigative commission was illegal. When Ziobro reached the Sejm, the commission… ended its session and requested his arrest.
Even some pro-government media found the action absurd. It also made waves worldwide, thanks to Republika journalists’ international connections. This was yet another breach of the monopoly – large foreign media were supposed to be influenced only by the other side, writes Piotr Lisiewicz in Gazeta Polska.
Destroy credibility and intimidate advertisers
The plan to destroy Republika is multi-layered. Owsiak publicly announced a boycott of the station: “I declare that if any company wants to work with us and advertise on that television, they must choose.” This is an attempt to financially strangle an independent station to accustom society to the idea of stripping it of its license.
Hadacz and the return of provocateurs
A symbolic gesture of threat was made by Andrzej Hadacz, a well-known provocateur from the Cross of Remembrance in 2010. During the Smolensk monthly commemoration, he simulated a gesture of pulling out a plug – a harbinger of an attempt to silence Republika. These are the same people who covered up Smolensk and reset relations with Russia.
Who is behind the attack?
Krzysztof Gawkowski, who gave the government’s signal to attack Republika, is a “defender of Wojciech Jaruzelski” and an opponent of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), writes Gazeta Polska. The first journalist to openly talk about revoking Republika’s license was Kamila Biedrzycka – known for promoting generals from WSI and WSW. Her programs featured people from the old system or those responsible for the reset with Russia, such as Marek Dukaczewski and Piotr Pytel.
The behind-the-scenes of the attack on TV Republika, the connections between those attacking the station and the former security services, and the brutal fight of the authorities against independent media – read about it in the latest issue of Gazeta Polska!