Poland: Antipatriotic Actions and Election Boycott

Nov. 11 is a patriotic holiday in Poland and the fascists come out on the streets. Elections this year were scheduled for Nov. 12.

The first anarchist anti-fascist actions really was a commemoration of Krystallnacht in Bydgoszcz in the form of a bicycle vigil on Nov. 9.

On Nov. 10, neonazis, members of the League of Polish Families, famous anti-semitic Solidarity priest Jankowski and the leader of the libertarian capitalist party held a ceremony to open a monument to the anti-semitic figure Roman Dmowsk in Warsaw. They made a surprise move and held a ceremony a day earlier than had been announced. This ceremony does not appear in official documents of legalized public gatherings which the city is obliged to keep, so it's clear that the municipal authorities conspired with these people to keep the ceremony a secret, and people were only able to find out about it late at night. Nonetheless, some small group of people mobilized.

The monument has drawn protest from various quarters, not only because of its figure, but because it was financed with public money.

The height of police cooperation with fascists occurred when one guy held up
a placard with a picture of Dmowski and Hitler and the police tried to fine
him for "promoting fascism". It has to be pointed out that at the same time, skinheads were handing out fascistic leaflets and newspapers - but noticing that would have required the police to actually READ.

Later that night, a group of masked assailants attacked the monument, which
was supposed to be guarded. It was hit with paint bombs, had a swaztika painted on it and there were Dmowski's worst quotes spray painted around the monument.

After the incident, fascists started to make all sorts of threats on their forums etc.. But they were also visibly nervous even at the sight of a few protestors. They had planned to hold a demo on the 11th in Warsaw, but, as we found out only today on the 12th, they called it off.

This of course saved their skin because people were mad and were waiting for
them on the 11th. The antifascist scouts reported that the fascists were in the church - and they had planned to march after that... but they never came, which puzzled the people waiting for them. But it should be considered a victory when the boneheads are too frightened to march. Last time they marched they only got eggs and kefir thrown at that, but maybe their spies got word that people were a bit angrier this year.

Antifascists went to attack another nazi object instead.

In another city, Poznan, the city authorities decided to demonstrate their patriotic mood by opening the military airport to the public so they could go and see the newly delivered F-16s. A group of about 200 people from various organizations, including anarchists, went there to protest.

Today, Nov. 12, is election day and members of the Anarchist Federation from Praga plan to continue agitation for an election boycott despite the rule about "electoral silence". Last year the Electoral Commission decided that calling for a boycott is not the same as agitating for or against any candidate, which is what the law forbids. This decision came after 3 people were arrested.

In the last few days, FA Praga stepped up the boycott actions with free newspapers, an hour-long televised debate with an organization which encourages voting and a billboard improvement campaign.

Although the billboard campaign targeted everybody, the most interesting and
numerous slogans naturally had to appear against Wojciech Wierzejski, the asshole from League of Polish Families who famously called on people to beat homosexuals who came to Gay Pride Parade. He's running for President of Warsaw, and is expected to get about 0%.

His party is trying to get creationism into schools and one of its elders has very interesting ideas to debate Darwinists - including claims that humans lived alongside dinosaurs and that Neanderthals still exist. (He studied the atonomy of an American boxer and decided that his cranial measurements made him a neanderthal.) So of course we like the slogan "Neanderthals are among us" for use against the League.