International News

WARSAW, July 11 (APP/AFP) – Around 2,000 people on
Monday took part in an anti-government street protest in Warsaw, though Polish freedom icon Lech Walesa was unable to attend because of health problems.
The demonstration was held in opposition to a monthly march carried
out by governing Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski in memory of his twin brother Lech, Poland’s president at the time, and 95 other people who were killed when the presidential jet crashed in Russia in 2010.
Opponents say Kaczynski uses the monthly event to mobilise supporters
and attack centrist critics.
The Polish government is being probed by the European Union over
perceived threats to the rule of law, and Walesa has previously questioned whether Kaczynski is seeking to turn Poland into “a dictatorship”.
Surrounded by a heavy police presence, the anti-Kaczynski protesters
chanted, “Lech Walesa, freedom, equality, democracy” and placed white roses on the police cars.
The 73-year-old Nobel peace laureate, who had been planning to attend
the protest, announced Saturday he would be a no-show after he was taken to
hospital for tests related to his high blood pressure.