'We cannot afford to marginalize an important media project': Belsat director says

After managing Belsat TV for 17 years, its director and founder, Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy, was offered a contract termination by mutual agreement during a personal meeting with Daniel Gorgosz, the liquidator of TVP S.A., the Polish public broadcaster.

Director of the Belsat TV channel Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy in the editorial office. Warsaw Poland. February 8, 2024.

The liquidator did not raise any objections to Romaszewska-Guzy’s work or to the channel’s current operations. He justified the decision with the need for a “new beginning” in the current situation of the reduction of the station’s budget in 2024 (from the planned 75 million zlotys to 40 million zlotys (approx. 10,170,000 USD), which is about 47% less). At the same time, he offered very favorable financial conditions for the termination of the contract.

The head of Belsat rejected the offer. She justified her decision with the uncertainty about the future of the station. According to her, such a significant reduction in the funds allocated to Belsat could severely limit its activities, leading to a possible risk of liquidation. Taking into account fixed costs, this could lead to a reduction of up to two-thirds of the staff and a significant reduction of the programming offer.

“In the current geopolitical situation, Belsat is undoubtedly an element of the Polish raison d’état. Two of its eastern neighbors have totalitarian regimes, and the third is at war. In addition, Russia and Belarus have allocated incomparably more significant resources to gigantic disinformation campaigns and a propaganda machine than what is now proposed for the operation of Belsat. Therefore, we cannot afford to marginalize the most important media project that counteracts these actions both in Poland and abroad and provides us with contact with the enslaved societies of the post-Soviet region. No amount of personal compensation can compensate me for the damage that Poland would suffer from the liquidation of Belsat,” commented the director of Belsat.

Due to Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy’s refusal, the liquidator declared her employment contract terminated.

Romaszewska-Guzy’s colleagues are worried about the future of the station.

“As one of the people who, together with Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy, helped to build Belsat from the ground up, I take note of the recent situation with great regret. For many years, Director Romaszewska-Guzy has led the team with immense success, resulting in significant achievements in strengthening the national identity of Belarusians and combating hostile propaganda,” said Aleksy Dzikawicki, Deputy Director of the channel.

Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy’s deputy for programming, Beata Krasicka, speaks in a similar tone:

“I decided to co-found this project 17 years ago because I remember how important Radio Free Europe was for the Polish people during the Polish People’s Republic… Belsat has grown into an extraordinary media organization with a significant impact and audience. Now, with the ongoing war in Ukraine and the repression in Belarus, it is more important than ever to continue its mission. It will be a daunting task to try to operate with a budget cut in half without the person who created and successfully led this station for all these years”.

On February 9th, the Belsat team wrote an open letter to the new Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, appealing for the station to be maintained in its current form. One hundred and seventy employees signed the letter. The station’s authorities made several attempts to contact the head of the Polish diplomacy and the authorities of TVP S.A.

“We started broadcasting as a Belarusian-language satellite television, and for 17 years we have grown into one of the largest media of this type, broadcasting from the territory of the EU and NATO to almost the entire region of the former USSR. It is also your – Polish – effective soft power tool, your success and our life’s work. A work that resulted in 17 of our colleagues being imprisoned by Lukashenka and suffering serious health problems in detention,” wrote the Belsat team.