Anti-immigrant marches organized by the Polish far-right groups, are planned in nearly 80 Polish cities from Friday till Sunday. Poland's Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, Adam Bodnar, told the media on Friday that he is deeply concerned about such gatherings taking place.
Recently, we hear almost daily in Poland about various incidents and assaults, largely motivated by the color of someone's skin. This shouldn't happen in our country - we should respect every person, regardless of where they come from. Police and prosecutors should consistently intervene in such situations - and work to ensure respect for public order and Polish law.
- Minister Bodnar emphasised, adding that events such as these far-right rallies only result in more hate speech in public debate, and in a rise of direct xenophobic violence on Polish streets.
At an event in southern Poland's Katowice on Thursday, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Poland's Central Investigation Bureau of Police, Minister of Interior and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak addressed the matter - assuring that the forces would respond to any incidents during the upcoming xenophobic marches.
If the law is broken during the upcoming demonstrations, the police will of course react harshly. I issued clear recommendations to place special surveillance on places where foreigners reside - to avoid situations like the recent one in Wałbrzych.
- Tomasz Siemoniak said, referring to a recent incident in southwestern Poland, where two men assaulted a Paraguayan legally residing in the country. Police had received a report that the man was filming children in public places, but verified it as false. However, a few hours later, an assault provoked by this fake news took place, and the Paraguayan was beaten up. The perpetrators were arrested.
Minister Siemoniak also addressed politicians promoting anti-immigrant narratives:
I appeal to those who attempt to capitalize on the issue of migration and the presence of foreigners in Poland - demonstrate at least a minimum of responsibility and refrain from spreading false information.
In response to the actions of the far right, anti-fascist and anti-racist demonstrations will take place in many Polish cities on Saturday and Sunday. In Warsaw, the protest against aggression against migrants will be held under the slogan "Stop the Fascism - Refugees Welcome".
Political scientist, Dr. Filip Ilkowski, is a member of the United Against Racism coalition. As he told Polish Radio - people must unite to resist the fascist wave sweeping across Poland.
There will be protests across the country against the antics of various homegrown would-be fuhrers in the style of (far-right politicians) Bąkiewicz or Bosak. I hope that as many people as possible will show their opposition to these terrible things, against the recent activities of self-appointed "citizen patrols", which are essentially a direct path to pogroms. Innocent people in Poland increasingly feel threatened, simply because of their skin color, religion, or the language they speak.
At least one million foreigners work in Poland, the majority of whom are Ukrainian citizens, according to the latest Statistics Poland data. However, some estimates from other sources, like the Warsaw Enterprise Institute, indicate that this number may be even four times higher. The data also shows that immigrants contribute significantly to Poland's GDP and that they are crucial to the Polish economy.
At the same time, contrary to far-right propaganda - foreigners' conflicts with the law in Poland are generally less common than in the case of the locals (Poles overall - 0,71%, the biggest national migrant group of 1,500.000 Ukrainians - 0,65%), apart from the most problematic national migrant groups like the Georgians (27,000 legally residing in the country, and a whopping 10% crime rate among them).
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Source: IAR, PAP