Poland Has Lifted Its Media Ban

If you visit the halls of government in most developed countries, you’ll see not just politicians at work, but journalists documenting their decision-making with cameras and computers. But for five days, the Polish parliament’s debating chamber banned journalists altogether. While Polish parliament’s media ban lifted on Tuesday, reports Marcin Goettig for Reuters—questions about the fate of the country’s free press remain.

The temporary ban was lifted after Poles took to the streets to protest. As Goettig and Lidia Kelly reported last Friday, tensions flared after the ruling Law and Justice Party announced that starting next year, most journalists will be banned from entering the Sejm, or lower house of parliament. Instead journalists would be required to interview officials from a separate building. Recording of parliamentary sessions would also be banned for most media outlets. The announcement of the upcoming changes caused tensions to flare inside the Sejm. After an MP stood on the podium with a sign reading “free media,” report Kelly and Goettig, he was soon joined by others and the parliament was brought to a halt.

Then, the Law and Justice-dominated parliament did something unusual: They kicked all reporters out of the building, went to a side room and held what the opposition says was an illegal vote on the 2017 budget. That prompted widespread demonstrations just days after the government began cracking down on public gatherings.

The timing is sensitive for Poles: December 13 marked 35 years since the country’s communist government imposed martial law, jailing and killing its opponents. The target of the crackdown was Solidarity, a trade union that became a movement to democratize Poland. During a year and a half of martial law, Poland’s journalists were targeted, and freedom of the press has remained a critical issue for Poles who remember a time when voicing opposition could cost you your life.

That freedom has already been challenged by the Law and Justice Party. Now the most powerful party in Poland, the far-right party took power after running on a platform that promised Poles a return to conservative values and resistance to globalization and refugees. Soon after taking office, the party began to “reform” Polish journalism, taking over public broadcasting and the hiring and firing of some journalists. The new government also spurred an ongoing constitutional crisis by overlooking existing laws that dictate how the country’s highest court should function.

The nationalist Law and Justice Party has been criticized for its attempts to control how journalists characterize Polish history. (As SmartNews reported earlier this year, the parliament moved to ban the term “Polish death camps,” a move some claim minimizes the role Poles played in the Holocaust.) But for many Poles, closing the door on lawmakers’ once-public debates was a step too far.

Members of the opposition staged a five-day sit-in on the floor of the parliament, even when their opponents turned off the light and heat inside the building. And outside, thousands of protestors gathered in the chilly December weather to make their voices heard.

The ban has been lifted for now, but it’s still not clear what the Law and Justice Party’s next move will be. As Goettig notes, the party still has support due to a rise in the minimum wage and other social reforms. Onlookers will continue to keep a close eye on the situation, including the European Union, which has been conducting an investigation of the country’s rule of law since summer. The world is still watching Poland—that is, if the cameras and computers stay on.

Erin Blakemore | | READ MORE

Erin Blakemore is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist. Her work has appeared in publications like The Washington Post, TIME, mental_floss, Popular Science and JSTOR Daily. Learn more at erinblakemore.com.