Polish anti-ACTA activists collect signatures for referendum

Though the Polish government signed the agreement in January, along with other EU nations, the referendum campaign was launched inspite of the government's U-turn on the matter, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk declaring on 17 February that the government would not now ratify the legislation in its current form.

The government's initial stance had prompted widespread civil unrest in January, with demonstrations in cities across the country as well as the hacking of official web sites, including that of the Prime Minister.

Marcin Skubiszewski, a Warsaw activist connected to the referendumacta.pl web site, told Polish Radio that the signatures would act as a security if Tusk changes his mind on the legislation once again.

“By signing up for a referendum you can have an influence on reality,” Skubiszewski said.

Besides Warsaw, signatures were also collected yesterday in several major cities,including Wroclaw, Krakow, Katowice and Gdynia.

A minimum of 500,000 signatures is needed to bring about a referendum under Polish law. Anti-ACTA activists say they will continue to collect signatures until 16 March.

Prime Minister Tusk has claimed that his government's apparent U-turn on ACTA “is not the effect of any pressure on the government.” (nh/pg)