Around At 22.30 on Tuesday, a protest against the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal on abortion ended in front of the Sejm. Previously, for over an hour, the police had made public announcements not to assemble due to the state of the coronavirus epidemic and urged the crowd to disperse.
Participants of the protest that took place on Tuesday in front of the Sejm gathered in the early afternoon, then around 18 ended the protest, but gathered again after 19, shortly after the statement of the deputy prime minister, PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński.
The protesters before the Seym had banners with the slogans: “Your fault, your fault, your very great fault”, “Pis off”, “Row on the pavement” or “Women’s Hell”. They shouted: “I think, feel, decide” and “J … PiS”. Some of the participants wore masks with the red lightning symbol, national and rainbow flags. The flags of the Together party were also visible.
On Tuesday in Białystok, about eight thousand people took part in the black walk and it took place without incident – the police of Podlasie informed in the evening. The participants of the walk walked from Rynek Kościuszki through the city streets, incl. the main one – Lipowa. They were, among others under the building where the offices of Law and Justice are located. They marched on, among others along the following streets: Wyszyńskiego, Młynow, Liniarskiego, Malmeda, Aleja Piłsudskiego to the Lussy roundabout. They chanted: “I live, I feel, I decide”, “Freedom, equality, women’s rights”. In front of the PiS office: “Jarek, unfortunately, you will be overthrown by women,” J … ć PiS “.” Morawiecki … treacherous “.
The march was also supported by drivers who drove slowly, for example through the Lussy roundabout. Many drivers supported the protesters by using their horns. On the banners there were, among others slogans: “We have the government to overthrow for inconvenience”, “PiS off”.
There were no demonstrators in front of the Białystok cathedral. A group of men associated with national backgrounds stood there to defend the cathedral. Around 7.00 p.m. in front of the cathedral, a group of men unfolded a banner: “Women are with you !!! Let’s fight against writings, not traditions.” Above the banner there is also a poster of the campaign against abortion.
In Krakow, several thousand people gathered in the Main Square around the Adam Mickiewicz monument. To protest “We are making noise”, they brought pots and pans which they were hitting against, loud music was streaming from the loudspeakers, “My body, my choice”, “You won’t burn us all”, “Disgrace”, “Give us a choice”. Protesters against the Constitutional Tribunal’s abortion verdict chanted “J … ć PiS”, “Who doesn’t jump for PiS”. From the Main Market Square, they walked around the Planty Park. After returning to the Market Square, under the Town Hall Tower, they raised their mobile phones and turned on their flashlights.
Protests in Małopolska in various forms were also held in Andrychów, Dobczyce, Myślenice, Niepołomice, Chrzanów, Limanowa and Tarnów. According to the police, they ran smoothly.
“For me – as an employer – it is obvious that every employee of the office who wants to join this initiative has the full right to do so. I will not hinder or discourage them from joining the strike and I hope that other Krakow employers will do the same. “- wrote the Mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski.
Five thousand people – according to the police – participated in the demonstration in Katowice. Its participants gathered in front of the cathedral shouting and carrying plaques, such as: “My man has access to my uterus, not politicians,” “We need doctors, not missionaries.” Support for the demonstrators was expressed by a group of motorcyclists driving near the cathedral, honking their horns and “burning rubbers”.
The demonstrators then walked through the downtown streets to the vicinity of Spodek and turned back to the cathedral. As she informed at 20.30 press officer of the Katowice police, junior aspirant Agnieszka Żyłka, the demonstration was peaceful, there were no incidents.
Ok. at The protest in Łódź also ended on 20. Demonstrating, among others blocked one of the city’s main thoroughfares – al. The textile workers.
Tuesday’s demonstrations in Toruń and Bydgoszcz took place, among others in front of cathedrals and curiae. They met with the response of the circles defending the Catholic Church and churches.
Over a thousand people demonstrated in the Old Market Square in Bydgoszcz, a few hundred meters from the Cathedral of St. Martin and St. Nicholas and the Bishop’s Palace. – Let Bishop Jan Tyrawa hear us – said one of the participants of the protest.
In the courtyard of the cathedral there was a fairly large group of defenders of the Church praying the rosary, and in front of them a line of policemen. The officers were also present in front of the Bishop’s Palace.
After some time, some of the protesters from the Old Market Square moved to the narrow ul. Farna and stood in front of the cathedral with a large banner “This is war” and shouted vulgar slogans, incl. “You…”.
The defenders of the Church replied chanting: “One Poland – Catholic”, “God, honor and homeland” and “Holy faith, holy life”. Both groups were separated by policemen all the time and there was no direct confrontation between them.
In Toruń, the demonstrators gathered at the monument to Nicolaus Copernicus. From this place, to the bishop’s curia. They chanted, among others “Secular, not Catholic Poland”, “Bishop, you have fallen into …” and other slogans saturated with profanity.
According to the organizers, several thousand people gathered in the Old Town Square. On Tuesday, the demonstration was accompanied by a counter-demonstration.
“Both sides said or shouted out what they wanted (…). The behavior of both groups, however, was such that we were not forced to intervene” – a spokesman for the Toruń police, Chief Inspector, told PAP. Wioletta Dąbrowska.
– The judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal on abortion is fully compliant with the constitution and in the light of the constitution, there could not be any other judgment – said Jarosław Kaczyński in the recording published by Law and Justice.
In the opinion of the PiS president, the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal became “a pretext for violent social protests”. – Speeches that take place in a special situation. We have a severe stage of the COVID-19 epidemic. We have a state where all kinds of gatherings of more than five people are prohibited. We have a state in which these demonstrations will certainly cost many people’s lives, argues Kaczyński.
In his opinion, people who call to them and participate in them “bring about a common danger”. – They are committing a serious crime – he emphasizes.
Further, Kaczyński states that “the authorities have not only the right but also the obligation to oppose this kind of events.” Then he turns his attention to the protests outside churches and churches that took place last Sunday.
– This is a completely new event in the history of Poland, at least on this scale. A fatal event, because the Church can be assessed differently, but certainly the moral deposit that it holds is the only moral system that is universally recognized in Poland – he argues.
In addition to provincial capitals, protests were also held in smaller cities, incl. in Niepołomice, Limanowa and Darłowo.
