Two conflicting marches will be on the streets of Warsaw on 11 November - one by extreme rightwing groups and one by their opponents - to mark Poland’s Independence Day.
“The March of Independence”, organized by the nationalist All-Polish Youth will be joined by the extreme-right National Radical Camp and will start from near the Old Town at 15.00 CET. They will be opposed by the anti-fascist Never Again NGO, who are also planning a demonstration. The organizers of the nationalist demonstration have appealed to Warsaw residents to take part in the event so as to manifest their “national pride and commitment to the sovereign Polish nation” and to express their will “to fight for a strong and great Poland,” says a statement released to the media. In response, Never Again has issued a protest letter to city authorities against giving a green light to the demonstration, which “broke the law in previous years.”
The association, along with the Anti-Nazi Group, have joined a coalition called the 11 November Agreement, which aims to actively oppose what they call “fascist demonstrations carried out with impunity,” as the group writes in its communiqué. Representatives of up to 40 NGOs, along with journalists, artists and politicians will attend the protest. “We are demonstrating against utilising Independence Day by fascists for their own purposes. Fascism is not patriotism!” says Wiktor Marsza³ek, coordinator of the protest run by the Never Again association.
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