[www-features] (global feature proposal) POLAND: Brutal suppression of the Equality March in Poznan

Mon Nov 21 17:15:14 PST 2005

hi www-features,

The US-trained nationalist-socialist regime recently elected to
power in Poland is continuing the wave of oppression it started during
its first few weeks: it's even willing to use violence against non-violent
protestors who are only asking for non-discrimination!

So here's a proposal for a global article.

solidarity
boud

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<a href="http://pl.indymedia.org">POLAND:</a> REPRESSION

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Brutal suppression of the Equality March in Poznań

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http://pl.indymedia.org/images/2005/11/17003.jpg

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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZOMO">Zomo!</a> Gestapo!"
cried the participants of the Equality March in response to the brutal
intervention of the police. First of all, youths from the <a href="http://www.pl.indymedia.org/images/2005/06/14577.jpg">Młodzież
Wszechpolska [extreme right youth organisation associated with political 
party LPR]</a> and neofascists threw eggs against the protestors, and then
the police kicking and twisting arms detained the demonstrators sitting
on the ground. 68 people were detained.

<p><a href="http://video.indymedia.org/download/%5BIndymedia%5D_%282005-11-19%29_poznan051119marsz_rownosci.asf">video (32Mb, .asf)</a>
| <a href="/pl/2005/11/16968.shtml">photos [1]</a>  <a href="/pl/2005/11/16978.shtml">[2]</a>  <a href="http://www.foto.rozbrat.org/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1570">[3]</a> <a href="http://www.foto.rozbrat.org/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1755">[4]</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16997.shtml">protest letter (pl)</a> | <a href="/pl/2005/11/16994.shtml">the Equality March keeps going!</a>
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On Saturday 19 November 2005 in Poznań the Equality March took place,
or rather, should have taken place. It was hoped to display tolerance,
equal rights, women's rights and against discrimination against people
of other sexual orientations. Until now, all marches of this type in Poland
have been confronted by enmity from politicians: conservatives talked
about "immoral, upsetting promotion of homosexuality", neoliberals 
made the marches illegal for reasons of "lack of security". The Młodzież
Wszechpolska youths call participants of the Equality Marches homo-terrorists.
The Board Secretary of Młodzież Wszechpolska, Mariusz Tomczak, wrote 
that: "...Leftists and anarchists are the enemies of democracy, 
who question legal order and dream of turning society upside down."
This time it was similar - the march was made illegal by the authorities
and attacked by fighters and police.

The Mayor of Poznań has already banned 11 demonstrations 
[by the <a href="http://www.kwk.boo.pl">Free Caucasus Committee 
(Komitet Wolny Kaukaz = KWK)</a> - a coalition of groups protesting 
against the war in the Caucasus], and was found by the courts to
have acted illegally. After giving his 12th march ban (this time for
the Equality March) with the reason "lack of the possibility of 
ensuring security", it was clear, that participating in the march
would be an act of civil disobedience and that at the demonstration
there would be representatives of many different groups: feminists,
anarchists, lefists, and also artists.

Anarchists on this day started their protest during the afternoon 
in front of Mayor Grobel's house. Over 20 people with the banner
"Tolerance yes, politicians no" whistled, distributed flyers to neighbours
and called out slogans ("Every authority kills freedom", "Freedom of 
speech and freedom to meet"). Even though it was clear that someone 
was at home, nobody came out to give any responses to the accusations.

The Equality March itself could not take place. There were a dozen or
so police vans standing around all the roads leading to the point from
where the march was supposed to start. A few hundred protestors right
from the beginning were surrounded from both sides by very tight police 
cordons. Behind them from both sides gathered aggressive nazis, 
Młodzież Wszechpolska and "football-skinheads". Nobody could get to
the middle. After ineffective attempts to start the march, the demonstrators
started to form a circle yelling "Let's demonstrate in a circle". 
In answer to eggs, thrown at the demonstrators, the response was
"These show a mockery of democracy [pun in polish to do with eggs]".
There were police lines standing with their shields facing the
aggressive right-wing extremists, and also facing the demonstrators.
They started asking for identity papers both from the aggressive right-wing
extremists and from some people inside the demonstration (most often
those holding banners). Slogans called out included "Freedom, equality,
mutual help", "We have the right to demonstrate" and to the skinheads:
"Fascist pigs, cannot crush freedom".

After an hour, the police started to pull individuals out of the 
crowd and detain them. In answer, about 40 demonstrators sat on the 
ground and holding each other by the hand yelled out "This is your
democracy!". Even though nobody was aggressive, the police reacted
violently to the peaceful sit-in - police in balaclavas started to 
grab people by the hands and by the hair, a dozen or so people were
brutally pulled along the pavement to police vans. Police twisted arms
and kicked people sitting on the ground. People cried out: 
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZOMO">ZOMO</a>, "Gestapo", 
"release them". After 20 minutes, police withdrew because of the lack
of space in their vans. Five full vans, with over 60 people inside, 
went out to various police stations. Ewa Wojciak, an actor from the
8 Day Theatre, who was associated in the past with the democratic 
opposition, said to the press: "I want to cry. I saw police pull
a man with his head on the ground, women were pulled by their hair.
None of these young people insulted anyone, noone was aggressive, 
they demonstrated peacefully in order to defend tolerance. We fought
so many years for democracy, and I thought that we already had it, but
I see that there is never enough reminding people about the basics 
of democratic law."

Immediately after the detentions, the next protest started in front
of one of the police stations. During this solidarity protest, 3 more
people carrying a banner "No more repression for one's point of view" 
were detained.

In reaction to the repression,
<a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16997.shtml">a protest letter
(pl)</a> was prepared, from which we cite: "We feel deeply concerned
about the developing process of limiting and violating human rights in
Poland. We wish to live in a country, which guarantees equal treatment
for citizens independently of their age, sex, sexual preference, skin colour,
religious beliefs or political beliefs. In our opinion, Poland is presently
not such a country. Poland is a country of discrimination. We express
our disagreement with this." Well-known personalities from the cultural
community, journalists and social actors have signed it.

All those detained were released the same day.
Among those detained, were activists from various groups, actors, 
and others. If court cases take place, this will undoubtedly be 
political proceedings. "We will certainly lay a complaint about Mayor
Grobel's decision and we're counting on legal help from the Helsinki
Foundation, who is with us", stated one of the detained organisers,
Marta Jermaczek from the Greens 2004. Many normal procedures and 
legal principles were violated. Police didn't contact the organisers.
There was no clear request to disperse. As well, when we were expected
to disperse, we were still closed in by very tight police cordons, 
and outside of these were the football-fan-skinheads. We were afraid
of the them. Those detained point out that they don't just want to make
a media event, but they still want to go out in the streets.

<p>
Two weeks earlier, several groups from 9 towns around Poland organised
protests against the wave of political repression<br>
<br>Reports from the protests (pl):<br> <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16962.shtml">Lublin</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16852.shtml">Wrocław</a> | 
<a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16844.shtml">Kraków</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16828.shtml">Szczecin</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16823.shtml">Katowice</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16811.shtml">Poznań</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16801.shtml">Warszawa</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16792.shtml">Łódź</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16826.shtml">Częstochowa</a> | <a href="http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2005/11/16799.shtml">Gdańsk</a>.
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Now several tens of people have court cases to deal with for their
participation in the demonstrations, during which police brutally
intervened several times. Recently, <a
href="http://kurzyniec.host.sk">Marek Kurzyniec</a> (Anarchist
Federation - Kraków) was held for 15 days' arrest for his
participation in a demonstration against the war in the Caucasus. Another
protestor, <a href="http://www.smosarski.pl">Andrzej Smosarski</a>
from the Red Collective-Left Alternative (Czerwony Kolektyw-Lewicowa 
Alternatywa) was sentenced to a fine, commuted to 100 days under arrest, 
for his participation in a workers' protest. Everything looks like 
going to prison. A dozen or so people in the country are threatened by
this. More information <a
href="http://alteree.hardcore.lt/bezrepresji/">No more repression for
one's point of view</a>