Hands tied

Not long after it fined Polsat zł.1 million for broadcasting programs that either "made fun of religious feelings" or "put human life in danger," the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiTV) was given a chance to deal with the controversial Radio Maryja. A complaint pointing to anti-Semitic remarks on Father Tadeusz Rydzyk's radio station was filed with the regulator.

During a program on Radio Maryja, contributor Stanisław Michalkiewicz discussed Jewish organizations fighting for the property of Jews killed during the Holocaust. The broadcast repeatedly suggested Jews were taking advantage of the Holocaust for economic profit, referring to Jewish groups as "Holocaust incorporated." Michalkiewicz also said that Poland is being humiliated by Jews through rows over Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp and the Jedwabne pogrom. The Council for Media Ethics had already criticized the broadcast, saying it was anti-Semitic and used the "language of hatred." It appealed to the station to cease broadcasting such statements.

However, KRRiTV won't follow in its footsteps. "Only the president of the Council has the right to call on the broadcaster for explanations or to punish it," said Tomasz Różański, spokesperson for KRRiTV's acting president, Elżbieta Kruk. Kruk, who was named to her position by President Kaczyński, cannot make any executive decisions, since the Constitutional Tribunal decided that allowing the President to nominate the head of the Council was unconstitutional. Różański underlined that the Council alone cannot deal with the issue.

"Therefore, we cannot deal with the complaint about Radio Maryja, although we would like to," he said. He added that all the Council can do now is receive and store complaints and deal with them at a later date.

Radio Maryja's latest broadcast brought criticism from all sides of the political spectrum in Poland. Speaker of the Sejm Marek Jurek asked Father Rydzyk in a letter to convince Michalkiewicz to apologize for his statements. Marek Edelman - a former leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - also criticized the statements. The Vatican has also spoken out on the issue. The Holy See has expressed reservations as to Radio Maryja's engagement in political issues and called on the Episcopate to deal with the matter.