Category: Poland
-
The political games threatening human life at the Poland-Belarus border
CN: death ANALYSIS The ‘migration crisis’ between Poland and Belarus may have hit the mainstream global news cycle in early November, but the origins of the contest reach much farther back. The crux of the issue is not about migration specifically, but is in fact a broader political disagreement between the EU and Belarus’ Lukashenka.…
-
‘Clarifications are not good enough’: Poles demand abortion law U-turn after pregnant woman dies
CN: death It seems to be a never-ending epic in Poland. Though one without a comforting victory. Once again, Poles are marching against the near-total abortion ban that came into effect a year ago. Protesters have linked the death of a 30-year-old pregnant woman named Izabela, who died of sepsis 22 weeks into her pregnancy,…
-
Poland and the EU: a case study in pandering to authoritarianism
OPINION Poland could introduce another draconian law to further restrict civil liberties. The bill, proposed by right-wing activist Kaja Godek, would amend existing legislation on public congregations, banning peaceful protests for LGBT rights. ‘Questioning marriage as a union of man and woman, propagating same-sex marriage, propagating adoption by such couples, propagating gender as separate from…
-
‘We are afraid’: Polish queer families feel no safer since the repealing of ‘LGBT-free zones’
INTERVIEW Almost a month has passed since the first of four Polish regions repealed their infamous ‘LGBT-free zone’ declarations. This came after the EU put on hold millions of euros of funding to the regions. Hailed as a ‘great success’ by activists, the tide may already be turning for Poland’s queer community. Warsaw is now…
-
Power grabs, conservatism lite and fake justice: six years of no opposition in Poland
Support Politika News on Patreon. OPINION In a Poland still divided across multiple lines (West and East, city and country…), how has one party come to dominate national politics? One explanation can be found in Law and Justice (PiS)’s monopolisation of both the press and the justice system. Another is the right-wing zeitgeist of the…
-
Years of appeasing Lukashenko are backfiring: assessing Warsaw’s policy towards Belarus
Support Politika News on Patreon. OPINION Poland’s foreign policy as regards Aleksander Lukashenko’s regime has not been subject to much change since he became president in 1994. Relations between the two countries have tended to be warm, with Poland at times being the regime’s only ally West of Russia. This was the case until Belarus’…
-
Poland’s likely withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, and violence against women: an interview with Gals4Gals Łódź
PODCAST CN: this podcast episode contains discussion of homophobia, transphobia and misogyny. As Poland’s government comes one step closer to achieving its stated goal of withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, Politika News speaks to Gals4Gals Łódź. Last year, the feminist movement organised the city’s largest protest since the hunger demonstrations of 1981, against the government’s…
-
Remembering the Katyn Massacre and Stalinist crimes in Poland
HISTORY In April and May of 1940, 22 000 Polish army officers and civilians were murdered by Stalin’s NKVD. This year marks the 81st anniversary of what for a long time has been one of the many forgotten crimes of Stalin’s oligarchy. Remembering the Katyn Massacre today defies decades of denialism and renewed attempts to obscure the truth.…
-
Vaccination glitch highlights Warsaw’s negligent handling of the pandemic
OPINION On 1 April, without any apparent warning, thousands of Polish citizens aged 40-59 were invited to book their first COVID-19 vaccine dose. This, despite the fact that many older residents were yet to be vaccinated. Vaccines for the 40-59 age group had initially been expected to start in mid-May. The Chief of the Chancellery…
-
Remembering Polish-born revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg, 150 years after her birth
OPINION Rosa Luxemburg was born on the 5 March 1871 in the Polish town of Zamość, as Rozalia Luksenburg. She was a member of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), before splitting from the latter to help establish the Communist Party of…
the scroll 