Szymon Niemiec writes:
"Poland's New Government Cracks Down on the Powerless"
Szymon Niemiec
POZNAN, POLAND — A demonstration held in the city of
Poznan today disintegrated into violence as police moved in on
peaceful protesters. According to organizers including civil rights,
LGBT and other left-wing organizations, the demonstration was held to
protest Poznan Mayor Ryszard Grobelny's decision to ban organizers
from holding an Equality march, and to demonstrate against
discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender, race, and
disability.
The police initially surrounded the demonstrators to
separate them from opponents of the march and militiamen, who
outnumbered the activists approximately ten to one. After about two
hours of peaceful protest, one activist was dragged out of the circle
by the police while his companions cried "We're in Poland, not in
Belarus" and his fellow activists sat down to protest his removal.
Police thereupon began detaining marchers, only stopping when police
cars grew too full.
According to witnesses and protesters, those detained were dragged
face-down along the pavement; some were bludgeoned by police or struck
open-handed on the kidneys. In all, some 80 activists were detained for
questioning, while those from the opposition crowd who were heckling and
assaulting protesters were allowed to continue their activities
unmolested. In a slogan reminiscent of Nazi era propaganda, one placard
carried by the opposition group proclaimed "One leader, one faith, one
truth."Facing aggression from far-right militia, Poland's fledgling LGBT
community has stopped organizing gay pride events and switched to
Equality Parades, bringing minorities together under the rainbow flag.
Feminists, gays and lesbians, the handicapped, and ethnic and national
minorities of this Eastern European country have attempted to champion
tolerance and equality on the streets of Polish cities. However, in
this 99% Roman Catholic nation, home of the late Pope John Paul II, the
idea of loving thy neighbor appears once again to be confined within the
walls of its numerous churches.
In 2004 the mayor of Warsaw, the nation's capital, banned the Equality
March, which in previous years had come under repeated attacks from
counter-protesters and right-wing militia. The same year in Poznan and
Cracow, participants were pelted with eggs, stones and glass bottles
while the police, unable to deal with aggressive youths, simply stopped
the march.
In 2005 ten thousand supporters of tolerance and equality marched
peacefully — though illegally — through the center of Warsaw while
police provided equally illegal protection. Minor incidents occurred
only after the event, as the those opposed to the march chose passive
methods of interrupting the parade and sat on intersections rather than
resorting to violence. The mayor of Warsaw expressed his extreme
displeasure at the actions of law enforcers; two weeks later he allowed
far-right groups to organize a "Normalcy Parade", which brought
approximately 300 shaven-headed youths and far-right politicians to Warsaw.
