Czech Lawmakers Call On Public TV Boss to Resign

After a heated debate, the Czech Parliament early today called on controversial TV chief Jiri Hodac to resign, only hours after Prime Minister Milos Zeman publicly urged the director to do so.

“The lower house considers the immediate resignation of Jiri Hodac to be a necessary precondition for the solution of the crisis at Czech Television,” the house said after a 14-hour debate.

“I support the dismissal of general director Hodac, although I used to be against it,” Zeman had told the lawmakers.

The resolution, approved by 93 votes to 63, also called on the Czech Television Council to fire Hodac if he does not resign.

Hodac remained in the hospital where he was taken Thursday after what appeared to be a breakdown from exhaustion. The hospital said he was feeling better.

The television council, which picked Hodac on Dec. 20, is dominated by nominees of the two main Czech parties, the ruling Social Democrats and their opposition allies, the Civic Democrats.

The appointment sparked a staff strike over alleged political interference at the country’s dominant broadcaster and a public outcry backed by President Vaclav Havel.

The station’s journalists, who say Hodac would slant news coverage in line with politicians’ wishes, have occupied the newsroom and have been airing their own newscasts, which the new leadership often blacks out or replaces with its own news.