Freedom of speech is in danger like never beforeWarning Poles - freedom of speech is in danger like never before! An important voice of the journalistic community in the face of the announced purges

Over the past few days, representatives of the political groupings centred around Donald Tusk and their media supporters have made some very alarming statements.

We have heard scandalous announcements of political purges in the public and private media. Threats of revenge are being made against journalists working in the national and regional media. Proscription lists are being drawn up of journalists who are to be effectively banned from practising their profession. It is the first time such a situation has occurred in Poland since 1989 and it is reminiscent of practices taken directly from martial law.

After 1989, there had already been one attempt to close the media system - after the Smolensk catastrophe, when conservative journalists were fired from the public media. Yet now the political and media circles centred around Donald Tusk are announcing actions that show no respect for the law. They are openly planning an unlawful attempt on the National Media Council and its rights as well as on the National Broadcasting Council.

We strongly protest against such statements and actions.

We would like to warn that the political forces that feel themselves to be the winners of the elections, which are already powerful in the media and dominant in all areas, intend to completely eradicate freedom of speech and pluralism in Poland. This is probably done in order to destroy the state and steal from the Polish people with total impunity in silence and darkness, as was the case in the past.

Today, within reach of a remote control, each of us has a choice of television stations; each of us has access to many media offering different world views and approaches to public affairs. Can a state in which all the big TV stations and Internet portals become the same actually be called a democracy?

No. It would be a very real regime. That is why we urge all Poles to stand firm against this plan to destroy pluralism in the public and private media.

Journalists, publicists, media people who would like to sign this letter, are requested to send a letter to: [email protected]. Please write „a letter in defence of freedom of speech” in the title.

(Signatures in alphabetical order)

Michał Adamczyk

Goran Andrijanić

Hubert Bekrycht

Wojciech Biedroń

Dominika Ćosić

Maria Dłużewska

Lidia Dudkiewicz

Krzysztof Feusette

Marek Formela

Grzegorz Górny

Piotr Gursztyn

Marcin Habel

Jolanta Hajdasz

Jerzy Jachowicz

Adam Jakuć

Agnieszka Kamińska

Jaromir Kwiatkowski

Paweł Kwieciński

Dorota Kania

Michał Karnowski

Jacek Karnowski

Piotr Kotomski

Elżbieta Królikowska-Avis

Cezary Krysztopa

Jędrzej Lipski

Dorota Łosiewicz

Jakub Maciejewski

Lech Makowiecki

Wojciech Majsner

Miłosz Manasterski

Bernard Margueritte

Marzena Nykiel

Mariusz Pilis

Paweł Piszczek

Andrzej Potocki

Samuel Pereira

Marek Pyza

Anna Raczyńska

Michał Rybicki

Wojciech Reszczyński

Arkadiusz Rogowski

Andrzej Rybałt

Aleksandra Rybińska

Piotr Samsik

Daniel Sawicki

Ewa Stankiewicz

Wojciech Surmacz

Przemysław Szymańczyk

Marcin Tulicki

Aleksander Wierzejski

Marcin Wikło

Bronisław Wildstein

Anna Zapert

Marcin Żminkowski

Janusz Życzkowski