The participants in the so-called Independence March – which included Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro – gathered in the city center on Friday, waved red and white flags and lit Bangladeshi fires. The police secured the rally, which was held under the motto “Strong Nation – Greater Poland”, with a large contingent. At the same time, as a counter-protest, there was a street festival along an alternative route.
Unlike previous years, when there were repeated serious riots during the march, this time the rally was largely peaceful. According to the PAP agency, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, spoke of an “extremely peaceful march”. At noon, President Andrzej Duda inspected an official military parade for the National Day and laid a wreath in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Pilsudski Square.
Independence Day on November 11 is celebrated as a national holiday in Poland. On this day in 1918, Jozef Pilsudski had taken command of the Polish troops in Warsaw and declared independence. This coincided with the signing of the armistice between Germany and France. The peace treaties after World War I subsequently overcame the long division of Poland by Prussia, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
(SDA)