Poland saw one of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in 30 years, half a million demonstrators packed the streets of central Warsaw. The demonstrators marched against Poland's right-wing populist government.

Massive Polish Opposition rally in Warsaw, biggest anti-government protest in 30 years

The leader of the Polish women's strike, the movement that led to mass countrywide protests against a near-total abortion ban in Poland, has been accused of criminal hooliganism.

Poland: Protests erupt against abortion ban, leader charged with 'insulting police'

The protests coincided with the 102 anniversary of Polish women gaining voting rights in the country.

People rally against abortion ban In Poland on women's vote anniversary

Tens of thousands of Poles joined a march in Warsaw on Friday, the biggest in nine days of protests against a ruling by the country`s top court last week that amounted to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation.

Defying strict rules that restrict gatherings to five people during the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrators walked through central Warsaw streets carrying black umbrellas, a symbol of abortion rights protests in Poland, and banners that read "I think, I feel, I decide" or "God is a woman".

Military police lined the streets, some of in riot gear, as the demonstration began.

Organisers and the city of Warsaw said some 100,000 people took part, one of the largest protest gatherings in years, following a Constitutional Court ruling on Oct. 22 outlawing abortions due to foetal defects. It ended the most common of the few legal grounds left for abortion in Poland and set the country further apart from Europe`s mainstream.

Daily protests have taken place across the country in the past week, and have turned into an outpouring of anger against five years of nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) rule and the Roman Catholic church, which is an ally of the government.

Far-right groups which support the court ruling also turned out in small gatherings in Warsaw on Friday, and TV footage showed police clashing with them to keep one group away from the protesters.

The leader of the abortion rights movement in Poland, Marta Lempart, told activists to report any attacks and to resist any threats of prosecution or fines for taking part. "We are doing nothing wrong by protesting and going out on the streets," she told a news conference.

After the ruling goes into effect, women will only be able to terminate a pregnancy legally in the case of rape, incest or a threat to their health.

DANCING ON TRAMS

In an effort to ease tensions, President Andrzej Duda proposed legislation on Friday reintroducing the possibility of terminating a pregnancy due to foetal abnormalities, although only limited to defects that are immediately life-threatening.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pledged lawmakers would proceed with the legislation quickly, but demonstrators were unimpressed.

"This is an attempt to soften the situation for PiS, but no sane person should fall for it," activist and leftist lawmaker Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus told Reuters.

The government has accused demonstrators of risking the lives of the elderly by defying strict pandemic rules against large gatherings. Poland reported a daily record of more than 21,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski drew comparisons between the Polish protest and the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, saying demonstrations across the United States caused an "escalation" of the pandemic.

Public health experts say there has yet to be conclusive evidence of large-scale spread from the U.S. events.

Five women were charged with organising an illegal protest which attracted 850 people in the town of Police on Thursday, officials said.

The Catholic Church has said that while it opposes abortion, it did not push the government or the court to increase restrictions.

PiS, however, has sought to instil more traditional and Catholic values in public life, ending state funding for in vitro fertilisation, introducing more patriotic themes into school curricula and funding Church programmes.

It has also launched a crackdown on LGBT rights and a reform of the judiciary the European Union says subverts the rule law. PiS says it seeks to protect traditional Polish values against damaging western liberalism.

Opinion polls have shown its support falling sharply in recent weeks.

Tens of thousands of Poles joined a march in Warsaw on Friday, the biggest in nine days of protests against a ruling by the country`s top court last week that amounted to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation.

Tens of thousands of Poles joined a march in Warsaw on Friday, the biggest in nine days of protests against a ruling by the country`s top court last week that amounted to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation. Defying strict rules that restrict gatherings to five people during the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrators walked through central Warsaw streets carrying black umbrellas, a symbol of abortion rights protests in Poland, and banners that read "I think, I feel, I decide" or "God is a woman". Military police lined the streets, some of in riot gear, as the demonstration began. Organisers and the city of Warsaw said some 100,000 people took part, one of the largest protest gatherings in years, following a Constitutional Court ruling on Oct. 22 outlawing abortions due to foetal defects. It ended the most common of the few legal grounds left for abortion in Poland and set the country further apart from Europe`s mainstream. Daily protests have taken place across the country in the past week, and have turned into an outpouring of anger against five years of nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) rule and the Roman Catholic church, which is an ally of the government. Far-right groups which support the court ruling also turned out in small gatherings in Warsaw on Friday, and TV footage showed police clashing with them to keep one group away from the protesters. The leader of the abortion rights movement in Poland, Marta Lempart, told activists to report any attacks and to resist any threats of prosecution or fines for taking part. "We are doing nothing wrong by protesting and going out on the streets," she told a news conference. After the ruling goes into effect, women will only be able to terminate a pregnancy legally in the case of rape, incest or a threat to their health. DANCING ON TRAMS In an effort to ease tensions, President Andrzej Duda proposed legislation on Friday reintroducing the possibility of terminating a pregnancy due to foetal abnormalities, although only limited to defects that are immediately life-threatening. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pledged lawmakers would proceed with the legislation quickly, but demonstrators were unimpressed. "This is an attempt to soften the situation for PiS, but no sane person should fall for it," activist and leftist lawmaker Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus told Reuters. The government has accused demonstrators of risking the lives of the elderly by defying strict pandemic rules against large gatherings. Poland reported a daily record of more than 21,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Health Minister Adam Niedzielski drew comparisons between the Polish protest and the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, saying demonstrations across the United States caused an "escalation" of the pandemic. Public health experts say there has yet to be conclusive evidence of large-scale spread from the U.S. events. Five women were charged with organising an illegal protest which attracted 850 people in the town of Police on Thursday, officials said. The Catholic Church has said that while it opposes abortion, it did not push the government or the court to increase restrictions. PiS, however, has sought to instil more traditional and Catholic values in public life, ending state funding for in vitro fertilisation, introducing more patriotic themes into school curricula and funding Church programmes. It has also launched a crackdown on LGBT rights and a reform of the judiciary the European Union says subverts the rule law. PiS says it seeks to protect traditional Polish values against damaging western liberalism. Opinion polls have shown its support falling sharply in recent weeks.

Thousands in Warsaw join biggest protest so far against abortion ruling

Poland assemble: Warsaw residents organise biggest protest against abortion rules

Polish opposition lawmakers who accuse the ruling PiS party of undermining democracy and the constitution occupied the main hall of parliament for a fourth day on Monday, amid efforts to defuse Poland&#39;s biggest political standoff in years.

President Andrzej Duda was due to discuss the situation with the speaker of parliament and Law and Justice (PiS) party chief Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Duda, a PiS ally, met opposition leaders on Sunday.

&quot;Something wrong has happened to Polish democracy,&quot; Grzegorz Schetyna, leader of the biggest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), told private radio station RMF FM, saying he was ready to meet Kaczynski, who has no formal role in government but is seen as a strong influence on party policy.

Since coming to power in October 2015 the nationalist-minded, eurosceptic PiS has come under fire at home and abroad for what critics say are undemocratic moves designed to tighten its grip on power.

These include changes to the constitutional court that led the European Commission to say democracy and the rule of law were under threat in Poland and which Poles continued to protest against over the weekend. The government has also moved to exert more control over state prosecutors and approved legislation that human rights groups said would curtail freedom of assembly.

Tensions flared on Friday over government plans to limit media access to parliament, with opposition lawmakers occupying the plenary hall&#39;s podium in protest and thousands of Poles gathering in the streets.

The standoff escalated further when PiS lawmakers moved a planned vote on the 2017 budget to a side room late on Friday, and the opposition accused them of contravening legal procedure when they passed the law.

PO officials said on Monday they would notify prosecutors about the passage of the budget and demanded the resignation of parliamentary speaker Marek Kuchcinski.

PiS&#39;s media plan would see all direct recording of parliamentary sessions banned from January 1 except by five selected television stations, while the number of journalists allowed in parliament would be limited to two per media outlet.

PiS has already tightened control over public news media and critics see the curbs as an extension of that.

A poll for daily Rzeczpospolita on Monday found 68 per cent of Poles think curbing media access would limit their ability to know what parliament is doing.

Opposition and government officials have accused each other of fomenting the&nbsp;unrest for political gain.

Interior minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the protests were intended &quot;to block the state budget, to create a political crisis&quot;, the state-run PAP news agency reported.

&quot;Many lawmakers are bringing evidence now that the situation was planned, for example, that opposition parties had ordered catering in advance, hundreds or thousands of sandwiches,&quot; foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski told reporters.

Waszczykowski added that the government was open to compromise over the new media rules, suggesting they could end up &quot;being not as restrictive as the initial proposals&quot;.

Katarzyna Lubnauer of the liberal Modern party said it was the parliamentary speaker who had ordered the sandwiches in preparation for a late-night budget debate.

PO officials said lawmakers who spent the night in parliament had been forced to sit in the cold and in darkness.

&quot;Now the light is back on, we can read newspapers,&quot; Jan Grabiec told Reuters from the room.

Street demonstrations continued at a low level on Monday, with more planned for later in the day.

Financial markets have reacted calmly to the crisis. The zloty currency was little changed on Monday at 4.41 per euro, while the main stock market index WIG eased by 0.3 per cent.

(Reuters)

President Andrzej Duda was due to discuss the situation with the speaker of parliament and Law and Justice party chief Jaroslaw Kaczynski

Polish opposition lawmakers who accuse the ruling PiS party of undermining democracy and the constitution occupied the main hall of parliament for a fourth day on Monday, amid efforts to defuse Poland's biggest political standoff in years. President Andrzej Duda was due to discuss the situation with the speaker of parliament and Law and Justice (PiS) party chief Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Duda, a PiS ally, met opposition leaders on Sunday. "Something wrong has happened to Polish democracy," Grzegorz Schetyna, leader of the biggest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), told private radio station RMF FM, saying he was ready to meet Kaczynski, who has no formal role in government but is seen as a strong influence on party policy. Since coming to power in October 2015 the nationalist-minded, eurosceptic PiS has come under fire at home and abroad for what critics say are undemocratic moves designed to tighten its grip on power. These include changes to the constitutional court that led the European Commission to say democracy and the rule of law were under threat in Poland and which Poles continued to protest against over the weekend. The government has also moved to exert more control over state prosecutors and approved legislation that human rights groups said would curtail freedom of assembly. Tensions flared on Friday over government plans to limit media access to parliament, with opposition lawmakers occupying the plenary hall's podium in protest and thousands of Poles gathering in the streets. The standoff escalated further when PiS lawmakers moved a planned vote on the 2017 budget to a side room late on Friday, and the opposition accused them of contravening legal procedure when they passed the law. PO officials said on Monday they would notify prosecutors about the passage of the budget and demanded the resignation of parliamentary speaker Marek Kuchcinski. PiS's media plan would see all direct recording of parliamentary sessions banned from January 1 except by five selected television stations, while the number of journalists allowed in parliament would be limited to two per media outlet. PiS has already tightened control over public news media and critics see the curbs as an extension of that. A poll for daily Rzeczpospolita on Monday found 68 per cent of Poles think curbing media access would limit their ability to know what parliament is doing. Opposition and government officials have accused each other of fomenting the unrest for political gain. Interior minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the protests were intended "to block the state budget, to create a political crisis", the state-run PAP news agency reported. "Many lawmakers are bringing evidence now that the situation was planned, for example, that opposition parties had ordered catering in advance, hundreds or thousands of sandwiches," foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski told reporters. Waszczykowski added that the government was open to compromise over the new media rules, suggesting they could end up "being not as restrictive as the initial proposals". Katarzyna Lubnauer of the liberal Modern party said it was the parliamentary speaker who had ordered the sandwiches in preparation for a late-night budget debate. PO officials said lawmakers who spent the night in parliament had been forced to sit in the cold and in darkness. "Now the light is back on, we can read newspapers," Jan Grabiec told Reuters from the room. Street demonstrations continued at a low level on Monday, with more planned for later in the day. Financial markets have reacted calmly to the crisis. The zloty currency was little changed on Monday at 4.41 per euro, while the main stock market index WIG eased by 0.3 per cent. (Reuters)

Poland's political standoff spills into fourth day

poland-protests

Poland Protests, News on Poland Protests, stories on Poland Protests, articles on Poland Protests, Poland Protests stories at Wion, Poland Protests news, Poland Protests latest news