TV staff thanks public for support

Employees of Czech public TV have thanked the public for support during their six-week strike which ended on Saturday at noon. At a public rally outside the TV building, they expressed their gratitude to thousands of people who had regularly gathered outside the building to support the strike which has been considered as a fight for freedom of speech and against attempts to introduce political control over the nation-wide TV network. The strike ended after parliament's appointment of a new interim general director, Jiri Balvin, who will head the station until a the Lower House elects a new supervisory board which will appoint a new director.