Czech rally demands press freedom

The crowd was the biggest since the Velvet Revolution

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Prague on Wednesday night to support striking journalists who are demanding the removal of Czech Television's new director.

Some estimates put the crowd in Wenceslas Square at 100,000, which would make it the largest public protest since mass demonstrations in the same square brought down the communist government in 1989.

Journalists at state-run Czech TV (CT) have been holding a sit-in since the 20 December appointment of Jiri Hodac, who they say is a political stooge put in place to compromise the station's editorial independence.

Mr Hodac says he will defend editorial independence

After separate meetings of leading politicians and the station's board of governors on Tuesday, the lower house of parliament will meet in emergency session on Friday to try to defuse the crisis.

The broadcasters claim Mr Hodac has close ties to the centre-right former Prime Minister, Vaclav Klaus.

Mr Hodac, a former BBC Czech service journalist who worked briefly as head of Czech TV news last year, denies that he would make the station into a mouthpiece for any party.

Resignation calls

But at the demonstration on Wednesday night, an array of speakers - including artists, actors, politicians and journalists - called for him to resign.

"It is very clear why we are here. The independence of television is at stake," said one protester.

Speaker after speaker called for Jiri Hodac to go

Rebel journalists are holding a sit-in at the station's newsroom and broadcasting alternative news bulletins by satellite and cable.

Mr Hodac has little political support, except from Mr Klaus's powerful Civic Democratic Party, which has a power-sharing agreement with the governing Social Democrats.

The Social Democratic cabinet met on Wednesday in an effort to resolve the problem.

Change proposed

Ministers have proposed an amendment that would change the way members of CT's board of governors are appointed, giving political parties less control of the process.

The protesting journalists do not dispute the legality of Mr Hodac's appointment by the station's board of governors, but say that having politicians name governors infringes upon editorial independence.

Prime Minister Milos Zeman is considering changing the broadcasting laws

But the proposed amendment is just a first step towards a possible solution, and a final decision rests with the lower house of parliament.

The rebel staff say the new law will take too long to come into force, and that only the immediate departure of Mr Hodac from the helm of CT offers a way out.

BBC Prague correspondent Ray Furlong says a chain of betting shops is now accepting wagers on how long Mr Hodac will last.

Popular support

There is widespread popular support for the journalists' stand, and more than 120,000 people have signed a petition backing their protest. Czech President Vaclav Havel has also expressed support for the strikers.

The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has also voiced its full support for the journalists' strike.

"This is a moment of truth for press freedom and democracy," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White on the organisation's website.

The upper chamber of the Czech parliament, dominated by the centre-right opposition and independents, approved a resolution on Wednesday calling on Mr Hodac to resign.