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Alert

ARTICLE 19 calls on president to veto media law

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - 16 July 2009 - ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression issued an open letter to Polish President Lech Kaczynski urging him not to promulgate the country's new Law on Public Activity within the Sphere of Media Services.

ARTICLE 19 believes that the recently adopted Media Law ("Ustawa o zadaniach publicznych w dziedzinach mediów") fails to meet international standards on public service broadcasting and should not enter into force unless significantly improved.

In particular, ARTICLE 19 is concerned with that the new legislation does not secure financial, editorial and regulatory independence of the country's public service broadcaster and leaves it vulnerable to potential political and financial pressures. Noting the importance of public service media for Polish society, and stressing the obligation of Poland to abide by international standards, ARTICLE 19 has called on President Kaczynski to veto the law and to send it back to parliament for further revision.

The full text of the letter can be found at:

poland-law-on-public-activity.pdf (169 KB)