Anti-immigration protests sweep Poland (VIDEOS)
The rallies were organized by a political alliance called the Confederation Liberty and Independence. The coalition of right-wing groups has taken a hardline stance against the EU and its immigration policy.
Around 3,000 people took part in a protest in the southern Polish city of Katowice, public broadcaster TVP reported on Saturday, citing police sources. According to the channel, most of the protesters were men and many were from football fan clubs.
Videos from the scene show protestors waving Polish flags and chanting anti-immigration slogans.
Protest przeciwko masowej imigracji. Donald Tusk zjednoczył kibiców. Tak to dzisiaj wyglądało w Katowicach pic.twitter.com/IikHDJlT50
The demonstrators also held a large banner reading: 'Refugees NOT welcome.'
🇵🇱 Poland: 'Refugees not welcomed'Massive protest. About 80-100 cities all over Poland are put aside any Footbal rivalries & stand together against illegal immigration.'This is Poland, not Brussels, here we don't support immigration' pic.twitter.com/SEM0Uj65i2
Confederation co-chairman Krzysztof Bosak, speaking to a rally in Bialystok on Saturday, accused the EU and NATO ally Germany of sending migrants across the border into Poland. The Polish border patrol is too overworked and undermanned to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, he said.
According to local news, some of the protests carried out minutes of silence in remembrance of a 24-year-old Polish woman who died after being stabbed in Torun last month. A 19-year-old Colombian national has been charged with murder.
Anti-immigration sentiment in Poland has been on the rise lately. In recent weeks, local Polish community groups have begun to form so-called 'citizen patrols' to block the entry and return of migrants at the country's border, according to local media.
Earlier this month, Warsaw reintroduced border controls with fellow EU members Germany and Lithuania, and deployed more troops to the areas to fight the flow of illegal immigration. Poland previously accused Berlin of 'dumping' thousands of migrants across the Polish border.
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