Activist sees ‘new beginning’ after Polish state TV apologizes for years of anti-LGBTQ propaganda
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/02/2024 (974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An LGBTQ rights activist in Poland said Tuesday that he believes it’s a “new beginning” in Poland after a host on state television apologized on air for the homophobic propaganda aired by state media in recent years.
“It took me by surprise,” said Bart Staszewski, one of two activists invited on air Sunday evening when the state TVP host apologized to them for the rhetoric directed at their community for years.
Staszewski, who had been personally targeted by the previous government, added: “I didn’t realize how much I needed” to hear the apology.
During the eight years of rule by the national conservative Law and Justice party, state media promoted the party’s line that LGBTQ+ people were threats to Polish families. At one point President Andrzej Duda — an ally of the former government — said he agreed with the idea that LGBT was “an ideology” and “not people.”
The approach has changed under a new centrist government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who moved quickly to eject the Law and Justice supporters from positions of power over state media.
Wojciech Szeląg, the TV host, began his discussion with the two activists by saying: “For many years in Poland shameful words have been directed at numerous individuals simply because they chose to decide for themselves who they are and whom they love. LGBT+ people are not an ideology, but people, with specific names, faces, relatives and friends.”
“All these people should hear the words ‘I am sorry’ exactly from this place,” Szeląg said. “I am sorry.”
Staszewski said the apology was refreshing and he feels like it’s a “new beginning.”
But he also said the new government still has work to do given that same-sex unions are still not permitted under Polish law. The LGBTQ+ community is also pushing for the new authorities to pass a hate speech law.