Following violent battles with police outside Poland’s parliament in Warsaw on Wednesday, some farmers and supporters claimed that they would bring the country to a halt.
Tens of thousands of farmers and sympathisers vowed on Wednesday that they would bring Poland to a halt following violent skirmishes with police outside the country’s parliament in Warsaw.
The demonstrators had assembled before the prime minister’s office in the Polish capital, burning tyres and tossing firecrackers, demanding an end to cheap imports and environmental rules that they claim affect their livelihoods.
They then marched towards parliament, where a Reuters witness witnessed police use batons, pepper spray, tear gas, and stun grenades on demonstrators, while other protestors threw rocks, cobblestones, and firecrackers at security personnel.
“Due to physical aggression against police officers by some of the people protesting… it was necessary to use direct coercive measures,” Warsaw police wrote in a post on X.
In a post on X, Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski stated that “23 provocateurs have been detained”. Local television footage showed several demonstrators forcing their way onto the parliamentary grounds before being apprehended by police.
According to Tomasz Obszanski, a farmers’ union head and protest organiser, police began preventing demonstrators from leaving as the rally came to an end.
“Everything was peaceful, and then the police appeared out of nowhere, there were loud bangs, and the police began using tear gas, provoking people to leave the protest,” said Obszanski, leader of the NSZZ RI Solidarnosc union for independent farmers. Farmers across the European Union have been clamouring for revisions to the limits imposed by the bloc’s Green Deal plan to combat climate change, as well as the reinstatement of customs taxes on agricultural imports from Ukraine that were lifted following Russia’s invasion.
Obszanski stated that the farmers were departing Warsaw empty-handed after their request to meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was denied and warned of additional consequences.
“Following what happened today, there will be a blockade of the entire country… Poland will grind to a halt because a Polish farmer will not allow himself to be handled in such a way, to be batonned,” Obszanski stated.
Tusk has invited agricultural leaders to meet on Saturday.
Obszanski believed that the number of demonstrators was in the high tens of thousands, while Warsaw city officials said it was around 30,000.
The farmers, who were fulfilling their vow to return to Warsaw after thousands marched through the capital a week before, were supported by Poland’s largest trade union, NSZZ Solidarnosc, as well as hunters and forestry workers.
Earlier, some protestors burned a coffin with the words “farmer, lived 20 years, killed by the Green Deal” in the street in front of Tusk’s office, blaring horns and waving Polish flags before marching to parliament.
Television video showed tractors being stopped on the outskirts of Warsaw, as farmers blocked roads around the country.
Tusk must strike a difficult balance between responding to farmers’ concerns and retaining his firm support for Kyiv in a year marked by both local and European elections.
He has argued that market disruptions were not only caused by imports from Ukraine but also by Russia and its ally Belarus, and on Monday said that Poland planned to seek the EU to restrict imports of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products.
Team Profile
- News Writer
- Khusbu Jena, equipped with a sturdy educational background in Media Studies, embarks on a journey to traverse the expansive dimensions of media, aiming to intertwine it with international affairs. Their academic pursuits have endowed them with a deep comprehension of the dynamic media landscape, spanning from traditional journalism to digital platforms, as well as encompassing area studies and geopolitics. Demonstrating an inherent curiosity about diverse workspaces, Khusbu exudes an eagerness for continuous learning and exploration.
Latest entries
