A march is scheduled for Sunday, June 4, 2023, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Polish time, in central Warsaw, Poland. March participants will gather in front of the Prime Minister's Chancellery located at Aleje Ujazdowskie 1/3. Then, they will march along the Royal Route ending at Plac Zamkowy, the US embassy informed on its official website.
“The planned march and several separate, authorized rallies located away from the main route are expected to take place. These activities are expected to draw participants with different political viewpoints. Security officials expect anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 participants”, the embassy added.
Donald Tusk, the country's former prime minister, has called on Poles to march with him for the sake of the nation's future. His party and security officials predicted that tens of thousands of people will join the demonstration.
The March coincides with the ongoing dispute over the creation of a commission to investigate Russian influence in Poland. Critics have said it violates the Polish constitution and could keep government opponents from holding public office. It could also block opposition candidates in an election due in the autumn, the AP news agency reported.
Polish opposition politicians said last week that the proposed probe was specifically targeted at former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is the leader of the country's largest opposition grouping, the Civic Coalition. The US State Department and the European Union have since expressed concerns about the Polish law, which has caused a public outcry.
A spokesman for the country's ruling conservatives said on Wednesday that the new commission to investigate Russian influence in Poland could be appointed at the next session of parliament on June 9.
Poland's President Andrzej Duda, who signed the law on Monday, revised it on Friday, amid uproar and criticism from the U.S. and EU. The president said he was sending them to parliament because he was aware of the domestic and international criticism surrounding the law proposed by Poland's governing conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
He said the amendments would reach parliament on Friday and called on lawmakers to “approve them as soon as possible.” Duda also said that his amendments were designed to "strengthen the transparency of the commission's proceedings.”
Poland is expected to hold general elections in October, though a date has not yet been set.
(aj)
SOURCE:PAP, prezydent.pl, pl.usembassy.gov,