The European Parliament's Committee on Petitions (PETI) agreed this Wednesday to send a letter to the Spanish government expressing their "concern" over the manipulation and censorship by RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster. The letter, to also ask the government for an explanation of the situation, was announced by the committee's president, Cecilia Wikström.
Wikström, a Swedish MEP, explained that, while awaiting a response from Spain, the petition presented to the committee by a group of RTVE workers will remain open. "We will express, in a letter to the Spanish government, our concern and we will let them respond in writing with their explanations and perception of the situation in view of the petition", said Wikström after a debate between Spanish MEPs of different parties.
The petition was presented three weeks ago by Asunción Gómez and Alejandro Caballero, members of TVE's News Council, who gave examples of coverage they didn't agree with, including the testimony by Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy in the Gürtel corruption case; a report on the crash of a Yakovlev Yak-42D in Turkey in 2003 killing Spanish peacekeeping troops; and the announcement of ETA's disarmament.
Wikström explained that, in the end, RTVE's management didn't want to take part in the debate, understanding that they would only have a quarter of the time of the petitioners.