Continuing actions against the radical right in Poland

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday June 15, 2006 12:37 by laure akai - anarchsit federation

gay parade, occupation of the Ministry of Education

In the past week, two major actions took place in Warsaw. The Equality (gay pride) Parade and an Occupation of the Ministry of Education. Both actions were also actions against the growing poer of the far-right.

On June 10, the Equality Parade took place. It is usually attacked by far-right groups and the last two years, it was banned by now President. Lech Kaczynski. (Both he and his vice-president got pied for this.) This year, about 5000 people came and some groups of neo-nazi and other far-right and homophobes assholes showed up to try to attack it. They threw some things and harrassed it all along but were kept slightly in check by a large pink and black bloc. At the end of the march, there were some altercations and in the end, one German activist was arrested. He has been denied due process and has been in detention since Saturday without being allowed to contact a lawyer. The police say he attacked them, which is normally what they say when they start beating people and somebody pushes them off.

The fascistic All-Polish Youth (youth branch of League of Polish Families) have asked the state prosecutor to start criminal proceedings against the black bloc who they claim were attacking bystanders. The All-Polish Youth is famous for organizing attacks on the gay parade and many of their activists have been arrested for this. In Krakow this year, their local group published a magazine with pictures of gay activists inciting people to attack them which they distributed to football hooligans. The parade in Krakow was attacked. This group had wanted to organize a counter-action in Warsaw but called it off at the last minute because of the pink and black bloc.

On Tuesday,June 13, high school students who are against the Minister of Education, Roman Giertych from the League of Polish families, occupied the Ministry of Education for over an hour before police arrested them and broke up the demonstration of supporters outside the gate. 18 people were arrested. Roman Giertych refused to meet with the students from Students' Initiative who he has in the past month accused of being organized by the former ruling leftist party, by gays, by pedaphiles and by the narco-mafia.

More information can be found here:\
www.cia.bzzz.net/english_news
Photos: www.cia.bzzz.net/okupacja_men