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Despite the ban, thousands of Polish nationalists and right-wing radicals once again marched through Warsaw in the so-called march for independence. The police were on duty with a large number. Many side streets were blocked. The protesters carried flags in the national colors, white and red, and slogans such as “Let’s defend our civilization” could be read on the posters. Some launched fireworks and lit Bengali bonfires.
In Poland, currently only meetings with a maximum of five people are allowed. The Polish government also asked people not to participate in the march. Then the organizers called a parade of cars and motorcycles through the center of the city. However, many participants left cars and motorcycles on side streets and continued on foot. The protesters ignored requests from the police to follow Corona regulations and maintain necessary distances. Many did not cover their mouths and noses. As reported by the AFP news agency, the police said there was at least one incident in which police officers were attacked by “groups of thugs.”
In recent years there have been repeated serious disturbances during the march. This year the motto was: “Our civilization, our rules”. The poster for this shows a gentleman breaking a red and rainbow-colored star, an allusion to communism, socialism, and the LGBT community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Independence Day on November 11 is a national holiday in Poland. On that day in 1918, Jozef Pilsudski had taken command of the Polish troops in Warsaw and proclaimed independence. This coincided with the conclusion of the armistice between Germany and France. With the peace treaties after the First World War, the long division of Poland between Prussia, Austria-Hungary and Russia was overcome.
Tens of thousands against the abortion law
This is not the first time that demonstrations have taken place in Poland despite the pandemic: tens of thousands have protested against the tightening of abortion laws for weeks. Since a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court on October 22, a pregnant woman is supposed to carry her child to term even if it is not viable. In fact, this amounts to a ban on abortion.
More recently, the Polish national conservative ruling party PiS lost a large amount in the polls. In light of the protests, the government has so far been reluctant to allow the law to take effect. To do this, he would have to publish the sentence in an official statement.
