Representatives of the Independence March Association announced that they would appeal to the court against the decision of the capital city hall, which did not give consent to organize meetings on November 11 on the route from Dmowski Roundabout to the National Stadium.
The president of the Independence March Association, Bartosz Malewski, said that the association appealed against the decision of the President of Warsaw banning the march. – We will fight for our rights in court – he emphasized.
Malewski said that in the appeal, the association requests, among other things, to hear the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, as a witness.
– We believe that the decisions previously made by the Masovian voivode (he twice refused to grant the march cyclical status – ed.), as well as the decisions that the mayor of Warsaw is making today, are not dictated by objectivity, which should be guided by a public administration body – emphasized the president of the association.
He added that the voivode and the mayor of Warsaw spoke critically about the march, its organizers and participants. – We have grounds to believe that the decisions made against us are dictated by a specific political will. We want the mayor of Warsaw to testify in court why he is banning Poles from marching on November 11, the day of Independence Day, he noted.
“Tens of thousands of Polish patriots will come anyway”
The head of the march's staff, Marcin Kowalski, said that the staff has been working for many months to ensure that the Independence March takes place safely and with dignity.
– The President of Warsaw must understand that no matter what he does, tens of thousands of Polish patriots will come to Warsaw on November 11 to the Dmowski roundabout. People will come who will not bow to this ban, he emphasized.
The head of the Independence March Guard, Mateusz Marzoch, noted that, as every year, the march will be secured by volunteers. – In previous years, we managed to ensure safety during the march – he added.
– The march guard will do everything to ensure safety during the march. We have been training for several months, planning security and we hope that the Independence March will take place peacefully. Because there is no doubt that it will take place, he emphasized.
The Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, noted on social media that if an application is received in accordance with the regulations and common sense, there will be something to consider. “For now, it looks like someone here really wants to start a row around the national holiday. And it's not me,” he added.
The city hall refused to allow the organizers of the march
The city hall refused to allow the Independence March Association to organize meetings on November 11 on the route from Dmowski Roundabout to the National Stadium.. The association has been organizing a march on this date and along this route for years.
As he said, on September 28, 2024, the Independence March Association submitted the first notice of the meeting convened on October 28 from November 21 to November 12 at 1. “The organizer then submitted another notification, practically identical in content, differing only in the starting date of the planned activity,” explained the city hall.
The program of this meeting included a stationary meeting in the area of Rondo Dmowski and pl. Parade on October 28 from 21 to November 11 at 14. In subsequent notifications, the start dates have been changed (from November 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10, respectively). The next stage of the assembly would be a march on November 11 from 2 p.m. to 1 on November 12, 2024 along the route: Al. Jerozolimskie, Poniatowski Bridge, ul. Wał Miedzeszyński (descent from the bridge via a loop), ul. Wybrzeże Szczecińskie, ul. Siwiec with the ending on the grounds of the National Stadium.
“In each notification about the meeting, 100,000 people were declared to participate,” the city hall informed.
The city requested an assessment of the applications
In its refusal, the office noted that the method of submitting notifications by the association does not allow it to be concluded which of them is in fact true and will be carried out, because in none of the subsequent applications did the organizer withdraw from the previously submitted notifications.
The city hall also said that all these reports were premature. Despite this, the city hall asked the police, fire brigade, ambulance service and the Public Transport Authority to assess the planned gathering.
“The answers provided clearly prove that organizing the meeting in the formula adopted by the organizer (in the first notification it is a total of 16 days, in subsequent notifications this number decreases accordingly) will have a very negative impact on the functioning of the city and activities emergency services and public transport, leading to traffic paralysis in a large part of Warsaw, which in turn will pose a threat to the health and life of residents,” the city hall said.
Main photo source: Tomasz Zieliński, tvnwarszawa.pl