This is a partial translation of the statement:
We have not been able to get out of the shock for several days. The allegations we face from the French trade unions, and the French and Polish media regarding the interview we conducted with Marine Le Pen and the existence of the French-language portal Tysol(.)fr. They are so absurd and grotesque that even taking into account the collapse of the notion of journalism, they say more about our critics than about us.
A campaign to discredit Tygodnik Solidarność, the Tysol.pl portal and even "Solidarity" itself has been going on for several days, because the media belonging to the trade union that changed the history of mankind dared to do their work and carry out the mission to which they were established for over 40 years ago. There were accusations of "supporting the extreme right" and "supporting the violation of freedom of speech" (sic!), "Denial of LGBT rights" and "stigmatization of immigrants". Our critics feel "amazed and disgusted." Several French trade unions protested, there were even threats to exclude Solidarity from the structures of the European Trade Union Confederation, and the French "Le Monde" and numerous media outlets in Poland eagerly picked up on this.
It is completely idiocy to combine Solidarity with the publications of Tygodnik Solidarność, Tysol.pl or Tysol.fr. Of course, the Union is the owner of Tysol Sp. z o.o., which is, inter alia, the publisher of "Tygodnik Solidarność" and the portals Tysol.pl and Tysol.fr, but the media, which follow the press law, are an independent entity!
Nobody from Gdańsk calls us with an instruction whether we should publish an interview with Marine Le Pen, or establish a French-language portal, or the removal of the published content. None of our critics asked for an opinion or more information on this subject, neither to the editor-in-chief of Tygodnik Solidarność, Michał Ossowski, responsible for the content of Tygodnik Solidarność, including an interview with Marine Le Pen, nor to the editor-in-chief of the portal Tysol.pl by Cezary Krysztopa, responsible for the content of Tysol.pl and Tysol.fr.
The media write nonsense about the articles on the pages of the Tysol.pl news portal, which allegedly are "messages from the union", while in fact they are the product of the work of our journalists reporting on specific events in the life of the Union. So it's hard not to get the impression that the issue of our publications is being used as an excuse to strike against a powerful Union which is based on patriotism and the social teaching of the Catholic Church, something inherently inconvenient for the "progressive" establishment. However, it is not our role to speak on behalf of the Union. The "Solidarity" can defend itself perfectly.
We are very uncomfortable with the allegations of French trade unions, because for some reason they are not directed at us, but at "Solidarity." However, they do concern our decisions. Perhaps it is different in France, but in Poland, there is freedom of speech, which guarantees us, the editors-in-chief of Tygodnik Solidarność and Tysol.pl, the possibility of free decision-making, and our press law, which makes the position of editor-in-chief an independent position. On the other hand, journalistic standards do not provide for issuing orders regarding publication, even from the owner. So if Mr. Philippe Martinez, the head of the CGT, and Mr. Laurent Berger, the head of CFDT, want to know something about our publications, please contact us, we will be happy to explain to them that "Tygodnik Solidarność", the first free magazine behind the Iron Curtain, did not drop the shackles of communist censorship to embrace the censorship of Mr. Martinez and Mr. Berger.
The "storm" launched by Mr. Jakub Iwaniek on our publications on the pages of "Le Monde" is very interesting.
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In his material, Mr. Iwaniek tries not to express his own opinion, but at the same time presents the matter unilaterally and in a distorted manner through the selection of interlocutors and quotes. The article reveals, for example, a thread about the photo of a smiling Marine Le Pen on the cover of Tygodnik Solidarność, which is supposed to prove the editorial sympathy for the French politician. So what photo of a politician legally operating in France, not being accused and having a chance of a second round of the presidential election, would please Mr. Martinez, Berger and Iwaniek? Le Pen with horns? With broken teeth? With your head cut off?
The same applies to the accusation of "supporting the extreme right", which allegedly would "contradict the struggle that French trade unions waged with Solidarity 40 years ago". We do not quite know what this "extreme right" is supposed to be, perhaps it is about everything to the right of left-wing trade unions or a former employee of "Gazeta Wyborcza", but for pity, gentlemen! Perhaps someone misled you, SOLIDARITY 40 YEARS AGO FOUGHT AGAINST THE EXTREME AND BRUTAL LEFT, NOT THE RIGHT. Such was the nature of the aggressive regime of the communist junta of general Wojciech Jaruzelski.
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Contrary to the absurd accusations, immigrants publish on our pages, immigrants who have found a safe haven in Poland for their need for freedom, or people who openly declare themselves as homosexual, and we have no problem with that. On the contrary, while remaining faithful to the ideas of Solidarity born over 40 years ago from a great national uprising, we respect different points of view.
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Finally, we would like to emphasize this clearly. If anyone was hoping to scare us, they miscalculated. Maybe we are not a big media corporation, we have our shortcomings, but we serve a great idea that has been carried over the past 40 years together with Solidarity. The idea of freedom. This idea imposes obligations on us not to bow to the demands of censorship. Honestly, it's also not in our nature. Therefore, if our publications so far have caused such outrage, let those who are outraged put on their seat belts and take something to calm down, because we are preparing more.
