Poland’s president talks with opposition, new protests ahead

Polish President Andrzej Duda was meeting separately with opposition party leaders on Sunday as he tried to help solve a political crisis, while antigovernment protests were planned for the third straight day.

Political tension is rising between Poland’s conservative government and the pro-European Union (EU) opposition over the ruling party’s plan to restrict journalists’ access to lawmakers in parliament.

Duda, aligned with the ruling party, expressed deep concern and has offered to mediate.

European Council President Donald Tusk, Poland’s former prime minister, appealed on Saturday for the ruling party to respect the people and the constitution. Prime Minister Beata Szydlo blamed the opposition and appealed for calm and dialogue.

The president’s spokesman, Marek Magierowski, said on Sunday that a number of meetings were planned throughout the day, which included one with the head of the ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

The first one was held with Ryszard Petru, leader of the Modern party.

Petru said later they discussed the media regulations and controversies around an irregular budget vote that was taken on Friday, when the conflict began. The opposition is demanding a repeat of the vote.

“We are still in a stalemate,” Petru said on TVN24.

Rallies supporting and opposing the government were planned on Sunday in Warsaw. On Saturday, protests were held in some other cities, too.

The ruling party has increased welfare spending and still remains popular with many Poles, particularly those outside of the cities and with modest incomes.
Meanwhile, Tusk on Saturday urged Poland’s ruling party to respect the country’s constitution, people and democratic practices as two days of antigovernment protests spread from Warsaw to two other cities.

Protesters rallied outside the presidential palace and the parliament building in Warsaw for a second day on Saturday over a government plan to restrict journalists’ access to lawmakers in parliament.

The protests came amid rising political tensions over the ruling conservative Law and Justice party’s new policies under chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski and followed a large spontaneous demonstration on Friday outside parliament.

‘Dictatorship’

Tusk, Poland’s former prime minister, invoked the word “dictatorship” and reminded his audience of protests in Poland under communism that ended in bloodshed.

“I appeal to those who hold real power in our country to respect the people, the principles and values of the constitution, the standing procedures and good practices,” Tusk said in Wroclaw, southwest Poland, where he was attending a cultural event.

He said whoever was undermining the “European model of democracy” in Poland was “exposing us all to strategic risks.”

A few hours later, Szydlo said in a nationwide televised address that the opposition was guided by a sense of “helplessness and frustration” over having lost power and was hurting Poland’s interest with its actions.

“Noise, perturbation, destabilisation have, alas, become the tools of the opposition parties,” Szydlo said, appealing for dialogue, responsibility and calm.

The crowd of a few thousand in Warsaw chanted, “Freedom! Equality! Democracy!”, and waved Polish and European Union flags, a reflection of the pro-European views of many liberal, urban Poles who oppose the ruling party.

“This conflict is entering a new, more aggressive phase,” said Szymon Roginski, a photographer who joined the protest with his two young sons. “Every day we hear news that makes us understand that we are further and further away from democracy. People have had enough.”

Some protesters held up copies of the constitution, to show they believe it was not being observed by the ruling party. They also chanted “Solidarity!” reflecting how many link today’s protests to the anti-communist opposition of the past.

Ryszard Petru, head of the Modern opposition party, told the crowd in Warsaw that Poles would not accept the “dictators” who are trying to restrict the access of journalists to parliament. He even suggested an early election.

In Poland’s biggest parliamentary crisis in years, opposition lawmakers protested the government media plan on Friday, blocking a vote on the budget. Governing party members then voted in another hall, but the opposition says the vote was flawed and illegal.

Opposition lawmakers are now demanding a repeat vote on Tuesday.

The Senate speaker was to meet with media representatives to discuss the new rules for reporters.

source: GULF NEWS