The Prime Minister of the country in the heart of Europe, backed by the entire state apparatus and three compliant television stations that just conducted an interview with him on their knees, is producing a video targeting the fourth television station because it criticizes him. Publicly, he threatens that the “time of using press conferences to manipulate public opinion is over.” At the same time, the Attorney General personally orders an investigation into the satirist’s statements on the fourth station. The media loyal to the Prime Minister started a campaign to intimidate its advertisers. This is how Putinism, with the goal of destroying the last bastion of free speech in Polish television after shutting down public media.
The chant “Republika” is echoed today at protests like the “Solidarity” slogan in the 1980s, and just like then, it can be interpreted in various ways. Solidarity was the name of a banned trade union, but at the same time, the chant was a call for solidarity with the persecuted or an expression of social solidarity in times of empty shelves.
“Republika” is the name of a television station that was not supposed to succeed after the assumption of power by Tusk. But this chant is also a demonstration of the Polish people’s desire for the Republic, an independent, self-governing state.
It was Republika TV that triggered the avalanche
The chanting of “Republika” emerged organically in every city where protests began because people believed that thanks to this station, they were not cut off from information about the unlawful actions of the authorities. This prevented a dangerous repeat of history. After the coalition took power on December 13, there was supposed to be a closure of the media system, just as it was before April 10, 2010, when three TV stations praised the policy of reunion with Russia dictated by Germany. They all vilified President Lech Kaczyński, who advocated the idea of solidarity among the nations of Central and Eastern Europe against the Russian threat. With their help, the government seized more areas of life. On April 6, 2010, Prof. Janusz Kurtyka, President of the Institute of National Remembrance, uttered significant words: “The dismantling of the state is already complete. Now people will disappear.” We know the rest of the story.
In 2024, the closure of the media system, planned after the unlawful takeover of public media by “strong people,” failed because one calculation went wrong: they couldn’t marginalize Republika TV. This mistake resulted in a series of events. Despite turning off the signals of TVP Info, TVP World, and regional TVP centres, people were not cut off from the truth. Those who didn’t know about Republika TV found out through the grapevine. Thanks to tuning in to Republika, they could learn on a large scale about the unlawful actions of the authorities and later about the appearance of political prisoners. When they learned, they took to the streets across Poland, culminating in a gigantic 300,000-strong rally in Warsaw.
Logic of a coup d’état vs. Logic of democracy
In the logic of a democratic state, the existence of an opposition television station is obvious. But not in the logic of a coup. Some may argue that if Jaruzelski’s martial law was a coup, calling Tusk’s actions that is an exaggeration. After all, he was in power. But Jaruzelski also ruled before and after December 13, albeit under completely different principles.
The coup involved breaking the agreement with the nation – the August agreements and the banning of Solidarity. Now, once again, there has been a breach of the agreement made at the beginning of the flawed transformation. We agreed that there would be no more political prisoners, no banning of political parties, or shutting down media. We also agreed that although everyone would pull in their own direction, we would strictly adhere to the Constitution and the law. However, after the 2023 elections, a political centre came to power that almost openly declared it would imprison people, ensure that rulers were not asked inappropriate questions, and take over media and independent state institutions with the help of strong people. In the logic of a coup, the existence of Republika TV is extremely dangerous for someone killing freedom because people can learn on a massive scale about their crimes.
Therefore, we are facing a bizarre situation in which the prime minister of a country in the heart of Europe, backed by the entire state apparatus and three compliant television stations, produces a video targeting the fourth television station because he has no influence over it. On the one hand, it’s grotesque, and on the other hand, it demonstrates a lack of confidence in his own arguments. Despite having many ways to influence citizens, his biggest source of concern is the existence of a channel that doesn’t say what he would like. It’s precisely equivalent to jamming Radio Free Europe by communist authorities.
Republika TV should be ascribed to others’ views. Solidarity was used to it in the past
Because the world has changed since December 13, 1981, an unprecedented campaign of intimidating Republika TV’s advertisers has become a tool for destroying the inconvenient station. The problem is that the values and views advocated by Republika are close to a huge part of Poles. When Solidarity’s ideas were close to the majority of Poles, the communist authorities felt the need to distort them – portray its leaders as troublemakers, agitators, agents of American imperialism, reactionaries, and who knows what else.
This time, a campaign was launched to attribute views to Republika TV that we not only do not support but have been opposing for years, not to please anyone but because we espouse views 180 degrees opposite.
Some praise us for it, while others criticize, calling it naivety. Still, our media is a right-leaning centre that places great importance on the issue of international solidarity among countries threatened by Moscow and instrumentally used by Berlin. Moreover, not only on the right – no centre in the entire political spectrum places greater emphasis on these concepts of Poland’s action on the international stage.
“Gazeta Polska” since the 1930s and Republika TV for the past 10 years, since its inception, have been advocating a program close to pre-war Prometheans, promoting the brotherhood of nations threatened by Russia and states aspiring to imperial dominance over democracies. Every loyal viewer and reader know this. Any Evidence for those who don’t know us? Tomasz Sakiewicz’s book “Testament of the First Republic” and thousands of articles and TV programs on Republika TV. We are proponents of the alliance of Intermarium countries and their ties with the United States.
The world has changed since December 13, 1981, so today, an unprecedented campaign to intimidate Republika TV’s advertisers has become a tool for destroying the inconvenient station.
In recent years, Republika TV has been constantly under fire from channels close to the Confederation, accusing us of favouring Americans (meaning Jews, as they add) and supporting “Banderites,” as they call Ukrainians (according to Putin). This criticism was untrue rhetorically (serving foreign interests), but it concerned our real views.
Clearly in favour of Israel
We are also supporters of cooperation with Israel, we abhor anti-Semitism as it diminishes and caricatures the patriotic camp. After the Hamas attacks, we were the only television station that clearly sided with Israel, without attempting to nuance the message like other channels.
Are we against relocating illegal immigrants to Poland? Of course, because we know what it looks like in countries that have let them in massively. It is not an effective form of international solidarity. Does this mean we are xenophobes and racists? Inane laughter.
Around our editorial office or with the participation of its journalists, committees such as Poland-Chechnya, Free Caucasus, or the Solidarity with Georgia initiative were formed. When Russia invaded Chechnya, five Muslims from Chechnya found work in our editorial office, from writing articles to simple physical work. Adam Borowski, the main organizer of demonstrations supporting Republika TV, is still the consul of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Warsaw, once listed as an enemy of the race by neonazis from Redwatch Polska. I, myself, was once the leader of the Free Caucasus Committee, supporting the Chechens’ struggle. Our immense support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia is obvious to everyone, as the issue is still fresh.
Homosexual offended by attributing homophobia to Republika TV
Attributing homophobia to us because we do not accept the terror of political correctness is a similar abuse. Waldemar Krysiak, a well-known journalist openly discussing his homosexual orientation, expressed outrage at allegations of homophobia against the station: “As a homosexual man who has been a guest on Republika TV many times, I consider the accusations of homophobia, of all the evil that the left advocates, not only rude and false but also vile.” As he added, “Accusations of this kind against Republika TV are shameless.” “I have been your guest many times and could enjoy your invitations, and nothing bad has ever happened to me at Republika TV. The same goes for every homosexual man I know who has been your guest besides me. These accusations are absurd.”
The only flaw: Poles are not Russians
Attempts to destroy Republika TV by the Tusk government resemble similar actions taken by Vladimir Putin after taking power in December 1999. Some methods seem to be almost copied. The international situation favours the regime. The whole story has only one flaw: Poles are not Russians, a nation with a slave mentality where noble dissidents remain isolated. All Poles want to be free. And when someone tries to take away their freedom, it elicits unpredictable reactions. Crowds on the streets and chants of “Republika” show that they couldn’t eradicate this from the nation’s consciousness.