Polish far-right march leaders criticized after violence
Members of Poland’s right-wing government have
condemned leaders of an annual far-right march in Warsaw for having failed to
prevent violence and injuries.
The Independence Day march Wednesday was planned to
be held in cars and on motorbikes, to observe pandemic-era social distancing.
But it was joined by an aggressive crowd on foot that clashed with the police,
causing injuries and allegedly setting an apartment on fire with a firecracker.
Thirty-five riot police were wounded, three of who
remain hospitalized, and 36 people were arrested, Warsaw police spokesman
Sylwester Marczak said Thursday.
He said people from across Poland took part in the
trouble.
Amid general outrage, some government politicians
blamed the violence on far-right organizers who allowed people to march on foot
and even joined in themselves.
“This is really sad that despite the assurances from
the organizers ... it turned out in the end that they also walked in the march
on foot. ... This should not have happened, said Blazej Spychalski, spokesman
for President Andrzej Duda.
Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin called for the
organizers to face criminal charges.
Warsaw authorities had banned the march, which a
court also declared illegal, citing the ban on gatherings of over five people
intended to stop the accelerating spread of the coronavirus.
Organized by far-right groups, the massive
Independence Day marches have often led to clashes with left-wing groups and
the police in the past.
The Nov. 11 national holiday marks Poland’s
regaining of sovereignty after World War I.
