Scandal in Rome: a journalist with a Ukrainian passport was denied accreditation to an international conference
11 July 21:42
The Ukrainian Embassy in Rome has denied accreditation to the International Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine to journalist Maria Gurska, the head of the Ukrainian-language Slawa channel of the Polish state broadcaster Telewizja Polska. Lviv journalist and MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi wrote about the incident on July 11 on his Facebook page, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
This decision of the diplomats caused public outrage from both Ukrainian parliamentarians and Polish partners.
Maria Gurska is a Ukrainian citizen who has lived in Poland for many years. She is the head of the Ukrainian-language broadcasting department at TVP World, a Polish foreign broadcasting system. Her channel covers, among other things, international support for Ukraine, events at the frontline, the recovery process, and Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Górska traveled to Rome as part of a Polish TV delegation to cover a conference on Ukraine’s recovery, but unlike her Polish colleagues, she did not receive accreditation. The Ukrainian Embassy in Italy sent her application for a separate review, considering the journalist to be primarily a Ukrainian citizen, not a representative of a foreign media outlet.
In response to inquiries from the office of the Polish government’s Commissioner for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, Pawel Kowal, we received information that it was the Ukrainian embassy that blocked Maria’s work. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Maria the same thing,” wrote Knyazhytsky.
The MP publicly appealed to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Andriy Sybiga, with a demand to investigate the situation.
“I ask you to punish the unprofessional people who ‘care’ so much about Ukraine’s image in the world and ‘respect’ Ukrainian citizens and apologize to Maria and the international editorial board of Polish television, who are constantly working to support our country,” the parliamentarian said.
The journalist herself commented on the incident:
“It hurts to feel like a stranger to your own country,” Gurska wrote on her Facebook page.
It should be noted that Gurska’s husband is a Polish citizen, and her mother-in-law is a former deputy head of the international department of the Polish presidential administration, who was awarded the Order for the development of Polish-Ukrainian dialogue. Despite living abroad for a long time, the journalist consciously retains her Ukrainian citizenship and brings up her children to respect the Ukrainian language and culture.
So far, the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has not been officially announced. In comments on social media, Ukrainians emphasize the need for changes in approaches to accreditation of journalists with Ukrainian passports working in foreign media, especially in the context of strategic communication and international support.
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