Massive Rally Held Against Government In Poland
MEP: Two former Polish presidents led tens of thousands of marchers Saturday in Warsaw to protest against the right-wing government’s policies and mark 27 years since the ouster of communism.
Tens of thousands of Poles joined the rally under the slogan “Everyone for freedom.” It was organized by the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD), which opposes reforms being carried out by the conservative ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The nationalist government has focused on helping those left out of Poland’s economic growth and increased its grip on state institutions. The moves have paralyzed the nation’s Constitutional Tribunal, put state-owned media under government control and increased police surveillance powers.
According to police, more than 10,000 people took part in the march in the capital, dpa news agency reported. At the same time, Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, a member of the opposition centrist Civic Platform (PO), put the number at 200,000, as reported by Reuters.
The EU says Poland’s rule of law and democracy are in danger.
The protests on Saturday brought former presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski, a left-winger, and Bronislaw Komorowski, a centrist, together to remind the Poles about their attachment to freedom and to democracy, which they won on June 4, 1989, in an election that peacefully ousted the communists from power.
