Demonstration in Krakow

poland / czech / slovakia | anarchist movement | news report Friday June 05, 2009 18:06 by Kot durumba at gmail dot com

20 years of fake democracy and false freedom

On 4 June 1989 there were the first "democratic" elections in Poland after the fall of the PRL. Politicians celebrated the destruction of fake communism and the introduction of fake freedom.

Enough Compromises!

One camp of right-wing conservative politicians celebrated in Gdansk with a mass. Another group celebrated in Krakow with heads of states who came to show how good life without "communism" is. Anarchists went there to protest against the fake freedom of voting and against the government's neo-liberal policies.

PM Tusk was afraid to go to Gdansk shipyard, which his government helped to liquidate. Civic Platform, the biggest enemy of the workers, sent in the police against shipyard workers two months ago in Warsaw, and workers don't want to see Tusk in his hometown. Wawel Castle is very safe for politicians, built to protect against invaders and protected by a legendary dragon, so nobody can get in there. Krakow was like a fortress, but anarchists managed a demonstration down the main streets anyway. The anarchist demonstration was joined by the tenants' group that has been protesting in Krakow for their rights.

The demonstrators criticized this false democracy. The Anarchist Federation had a banner saying "Without us there is no democracy", which means that the democracy of politicians is a false democracy, only direct democracy is real. The Union of Syndicalists had a banner saying "Enough compromises! The class war continues". In 1989 Solidarity leaders made a deal to get into power and put the workers' aspirations in the dustbin. And the unions are still trying to make compromises, not class war. Tenants also had their banner, "In defending tenants' rights" and a poster about the 19th postulate of Solidarity, never fulfilled, the "right to shorter waiting times for flats".

The Union of Syndicalists had another banner saying "Our dreams don't fit in your ballot boxes" and gave out boycott the election leaflets. The Anarchist Federation from Krakow had a newspaper about democracy and anarchism. People from Left Alternative made speeches during the demonstration.

There were a lot of police and many undercover police at the demonstration, but it was quiet. Police tried to take one person from the demo, but he was released. Today there is a lecture in Krakow by anarchists.

In Gdansk there was only a small action. Anarchists went with a banner saying "Against all parties" to the demonstration of the Law and Justice party. Solidarity activists who support this conservative party made an attack on anarchists and in doing this disrupted their own event.

In Warsaw, the Union of Syndicalists distributed leaflets against voting and held a banner during a concert of bands, many of them punk, which were anti-establishment in 1989 and were celebrating the petit bourgeois idea of "freedom". Also the group was in Katowice at a trade union demonstration by Solidarity, those of them who didn't support the political and church event in Gdansk.

The other article about this demonstration is here with links to photos and videos. http://cia.bzzz.net/anarchist_demonstrate_in_krakow_on_...tions