Today we received a statement from former Solidarity activists. In it, they lash out at young people protesting against the tightening of abortion law and the removal of women’s ability to decide about their own bodies and pregnancies. The activists (18 men and only 4 women) write that young people are “disoriented.” They use offensive language and call the protesters, among other things, “leftists.” The activists complain that their right to express their faith is allegedly being restricted and appeal to the city and county authorities to take decisive action.
Read for yourselves what the former Solidarity activists wrote.
Statement by anti-communist opposition activists from Bolesławiec
The Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling of 22 October confirmed that the law permitting the killing of unborn children suspected of having an incurable disease or disability is incompatible with the Polish CONSTITUTION. In response to the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision, a powerful wave of protests, lies and manipulation is growing in Poland. We, the undersigned, express our opposition and disapproval of the unprecedented level of aggression, vulgarity and hatred in Poland, as well as physical attacks on priests and participants in religious services in churches, and acts of vandalism committed against church buildings.
We firmly oppose attacks on our faith, whose freedom of worship is guaranteed to us by the Constitution. We do not accept the desecration of our sacred objects: paintings, monuments and holy places. We are outraged by the brutality with which protesters oppose our national traditions, the family, the permanence of marriage and unborn children, and we regard these actions as incompatible with the principles of the Constitution, democracy and the rule of law. Once, the communists declared war on their own nation; today, leftists and the so-called “total opposition” are doing the same. It is thanks to SOLIDARITY that we now have FREEDOM in Poland, including the freedom to protest and assemble, and the right to express our demands and views. However, every freedom has its limits, and that limit is the rights and freedoms of other citizens, especially the right to express their faith. As throughout the country, here in our city anonymous organizers of protests are bringing disoriented young people into the streets (secondary-school, vocational-school and even primary-school students), and quite often children as well, subjecting them to vulgar slogans and aggressive chants that have nothing to do with the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling. We, who contributed to overthrowing the hated communist system, firmly oppose such practices and appeal to the city authorities (the Mayor, the County Head, the City Council and the County Council) and law-enforcement services (the Police and Municipal Police) to take a firm stance against those breaking the applicable laws. Violating all sanitary restrictions during the pandemic will expose not only the participants in these protests to illness and death, but also many other citizens of Bolesławiec, particularly older people (seniors).
We expect decisive action and the restoration of order in the streets of our city.
Anuszkiewicz Adam
Chodała Bogumił
Draj Wanda
Dudkowska Antonina
Dziedziczak Adam
Filipek Jan
Filipek Stanisław
Frydrych Bogumił
Gach Grzegorz
Goryczka Ignacy
Górecki Dariusz
Kozdra Franciszek
Kozdra Helena
Krajewski Adam
Maczkowiak Zygmunt
Ogrodnik Wiesław
Olczak Mariusz
Ratajczak Ryszard
Razik Irena
Razik Zbigniew
Skruńdź Jacek
Złotkowski Lucjan