[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy has commented on the termination of the agreement between the Polish Foreign Ministry and the Polish TV channel regarding Belsat.
On Tuesday, the Polish newspaper ‘Rzeczpospolita’ published an article by Marek Ziółkowski who now holds the position of vice minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among other things, the official said that the previous agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish public television (TVP) was canceled. “We are willing to start a discussion with the Belarusian team of ‘Belsat’ on how to change the media, so they can find an appropriate donor,” wrote Ziolkowski.
Belsat TV Director Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy believes that the article presents the last year’s stance of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The entire Foreign Ministry’s position, apart from that of Minister Ziółkowski, has changed,” says Romaszewska-Guzy.
According to the channel director, the contract can be broken with a six-month warning and it can occur at the end of this year. This means that the new financing conditions (and not conditions for existence) will appear in 2018.
“From our point of view, nothing changes this year,” says Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy. – All the time we have been trying to figure out how much money the Foreign Ministry is planning to allocate for the operation of “Belsat”, since a lot depends on this. In any case, the TV station moves on, we will go on air, and it will not change”.
Director of “Belsat” noted that she knew about the termination of the contract already 2 weeks ago. “It was not made public, so as not to cause unnecessary disturbance of the public opinion and comments, especially if it is not preceded by progress in the negotiations of the next contract. We are waiting for the details of the new contract, but there are none yet, as negotiations continue. We are to clarify and lay out the conditions of the channel operations for 2018. As for 2017, the only thing that is needed is to determine the size of “Belsat” funding either by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or by other public institutions. In 2017 the highest Polish state officials have assured “Belsat” that the channel will continue to broadcast”.
In an interview with the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Stanisław Karczewski, Speaker of the upper house of the Polish parliament, said the Senate would make amendments to the decision on financing Belsat TV so that it could work further.
On January 5, Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy met with Poland’s Prime Minister and said that Beata Szydło assured her that there was no threat to Belsat TV: “I believe that you will share my joy over the news I want to spread: Prime Minister has assured me that there is no threat to Belsat TV. Over the next month the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Belsat TV will be establishing further principles of cooperation, “Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy said on Facebook.
In an interview with Polish online publication Wpolityce, Beata Szydło said that the government wanted to reach a compromise deal in a new Belsat TV concept. According to her, the negotiations on the issue are in progress. “Now a compromise deal and a new formula for the channel are being developed – I will wait for the results,” the Polish Prime Minister stressed.
Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy believes that the key task is to maintain the status of a satellite TV. She stressed that despite the fact that the channel is financed mainly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, formally, “Belsat” is a part of the “Polish Television”, which is the only body that can liquidate the channel.
Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy is convinced that the existence of “Belsat” is important for all journalistic media and, in general, the media in Belarus. She believes that Belsat TV is one of the most powerful media outlets in Belarus, which is brings together a very wide range of people in Belarus, as well as building a bridge between neighboring countries and Western Europe.
The director says that “Belsat” is constantly looking for new ways to approach the audience. “We are constantly working by trial and error, experimenting with what is better and more interesting for our audience. And we are doing it with very limited financial resources. Our annual budget equals that of five days’s work of the ‘Russia Today’ channel. I must admit that it is not much, but it’s better than nothing,” says Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy.
The director adds that “Belsat” has already done a lot, but is still “totally necessary”.
