Hołownia with barriers during a protest in front of the Sejm. “The police had one argument”

On Thursday, January 11, Law and Justice organized a “Protest of free Poles” in front of the Sejm building. According to the organizers, approximately 300,000 people took part in it. people, and according to the Warsaw City Hall, approximately 35 thousand.

Barriers in front of the Sejm during the protest

The demonstration was an expression of opposition to the actions of the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. This includes: about the issue of imprisoning PiS MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik despite the president’s act of clemency issued to them in 2015.

Before the demonstration began, barriers were placed again around the Sejm building. This caused considerable controversy, as the consent to the set-up was given by the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia. The point is that on the first day of his office, he issued a decision to remove the barriers in front of the Sejm, which had been there since 2016.

– The police barriers that disfigure the Sejm will disappear, because enough of these barriers have already been placed between us – said the Marshal on November 13, during the inaugural session of the Sejm of the 10th term.

The barriers have already been removed

The barriers set up by the “Protest of Free Poles” disappeared on Friday morning, January 12. Law enforcement officers noted that the barriers were set up to support their activities during the demonstration.

– The barriers were erected only to support our activities, because yesterday there were several gatherings in Warsaw. It was for safety reasons. (…) It should be remembered that the barriers were placed near objects important for state security. I already emphasized yesterday that they will disappear as soon as we complete our activities, said Marta Gierlicka, press spokesman for the Warsaw Police Headquarters, in an interview with “Interia”.

Hołownia: The police had one argument

Marshal Szymon Hołownia confirmed in an interview with TVN24 that the barriers were set up at the request of the police.

— The barriers were back for 24 hours. That was the agreement with the police. The police came and asked for it because we didn’t want these barriers to be erected. The police had one argument: the health and life of officers and protesters, Hołownia explained in the “One on One” program.

He announced that the barriers can only return in strictly defined circumstances and “they will be taken away immediately.”

– If several tens of thousands of people come and there is only a human cordon, and someone just pushes someone, someone could fall and hit something. At some point in the crowd, you are unable to control certain things, even with the good will of the demonstrators, Hołownia added.