Day of protests in Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
18.03.2017 20:04
Nationalists, anti-government protestors and anti-racism campaigners took to the streets in separate demonstrations on Saturday in a day of marches in Poland.
KOD protest in Warsaw. Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz
The anti-government Committee for the Defence of Democracy (KOD) protested in Warsaw against planned changes to the judiciary and local government.
The Committee, which has been a focal point of opposition to Poland's governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, claims government-backed changes will erode the independence of judges and local authorities, charges which PiS denies.
Warsaw police said around 1,000 people took part in the march when it started, while around 500 remained at the end, the IAR news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the National Radical Camp (ONR) and All-Polish Youth movement protested outside the Prime Minister's Office against the government’s immigration policy and what they described as the "Ukrainianisation of the Polish labour market."
ONR spokesman Tomasz Kalinowski said the government was creating conditions in which employers could replace Polish workers with Ukrainians, who are willing to work for lower wages, while Poles were emigrating to work in Western Europe.
Also on Saturday, protests against racism took place in Warsaw and other cities, with marchers demanding that Poland should take in refugees and combat discrimination against foreigners.
(pk)
Source: Polish Radio/PAP