The Czech cabinet met Wednesday to try to hammer out legislative proposals to resolve a crisis at the country's state TV service, where journalists are on strike to protest alleged political meddling.
The meeting of Prime Minister Milos Zeman's government came ahead of a planned mass demonstration on the symbolic Wenceslas Square later Wednesday to support the Czech Television (CT) journalists.
The journalists are calling for the ouster of their new boss Jiri Hodac, who they allege has close ties with the rightwing Civic Democratic Party (ODS) of former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus.
The newsmen have been occupying CT headquarters for over a week following Hodac's appointment on December 20, and on Monday escalated their protest to an all-out strike
Zeman, facing a crisis which raises questions of media independence a decade after the fall of communism, says his cabinet will make proposals to amend broadcasting law to avoid any question of political influence on media.
The planned amendment would notably change the method of appointment of CT governors, who are currently designated by parliament, according to Czech Culture Minister Pavel Dostal.
The CT governing body is the only organ able to dismiss the director general.
Under the plan, candidates would be proposed by cultural, regional, professional, religious or ecological associations, Dostal said.
"Parliament should examine this proposal as soon as possible," Zeman said after a meeting of leaders of the four main Czech political parties on Tuesday, calling the problem a "legislative state of emergency."
Meanwhile supporters of the striking journalists called for a demonstration on Wenceslas Square, heart of the 1989 "Velvet Revolution" that toppled communist rule, to begin at 5:00 PM (1600 GMT) Wednesday.
Other demonstrations were planned at the same time in the cities of Brno and Ostrava.
The Czech Senate was also to hold an extraordinary session on the TV crisis Wednesday afternoon -- PRAGUE (AFP)
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