Slovakia abolishes the current public television and creates a new body controlled by the Executive

The Parliament of Slovakia approved this Thursday in an emergency procedure the abolition of the public radio and television entity RTVS and its replacement by another entity, StaR, which will be subject to government control.

The controversial law was adopted with the vote of the deputies of the coalition in power, made up of populists and ultranationalists, while the entire opposition left the plenary session in protest. “It is a direct attack on democracy,” declared a member of the opposition before leaving the room, according to him. Efe.

The law, which was approved in an emergency procedure highly criticized by the opposition, was supported by the 78 government deputies who are the majority in the National Council, of 150 seats.

At the head of the new entity, called Slovak Television and Radio (StaR), there will be a board of directors of nine members, four of whom will be appointed directly by the Ministry of Culture.

The Executive headed by Robert Fico alleges that the RTVS does not fulfill its mission of objectivity, respect for the diversity of opinions, and promoting the national interest, supporting the country’s cultural values ​​and traditions.

As soon as he came to power last autumn, Fico declared an embargo on several private media outlets (Markiza, Denník N, Sme, Aktuality.sk). RTVS reporters have also been censored by members of the Executive in press conferences.

Voices against

Since the bill was announced, there have been massive protests in the streets.

RTVS employees protested with a work stoppage On this Thursday afternoon, the second strike was called in the history of the public entity, which despite this continued to broadcast some programs.

“This law removes one of the pillars of democracy“said a legislator, alluding to the independence that RTVS enjoyed until now with respect to the Executive, since its president was elected by Parliament.

Another opposition deputy referred to the influence of the policies with which the Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultranationalist Viktor Órban, has limited press freedom.