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Far-right rioters leave trail of destruction in Polish capital

12 November 2013 04:25 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Polish police used rubber bullets on Monday to break up groups of masked far-right youths who threw firecrackers and set fire to cars when a nationalist march through the center of the capital turned violent, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The march is an annual event to commemorate Poland's national independence day, and for the third year in a row it broke down into running battles in the middle of Warsaw between rioters and riot police.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said what should have been a holiday had been ruined by acts of aggression and violence. "What happened is unacceptable," he said.

Several thousand right-wing protesters began their march peacefully - watched by their own stewards in orange vests and with a police helicopter circling above.

The violence started when a few dozen youths, their faces covered by balaclavas and football scarves, broke off from the procession into a side street and started attacking a building where left-wing radicals occupied a squat.

Riot police moved in, and came under attack from youths throwing firecrackers and stones. As the rioters dispersed, several cars were set on fire.

The violence underscores the faultlines in Polish society. Many Poles have grown wealthier in the past few years, but a minority feel alienated and believe traditional values on marriage, abortion and the church have been swept aside.

Their growing profile in Poland mirrors the rise of the far-right elsewhere in Europe. The pain of the economic slowdown around the continent, coupled with local factors, has boosted support for nationalists and anti-immigrant groups in countries from Greece to Hungary and France.

In Poland, non-governmental watchdogs say incidents of racially-motivated violence are increasing, while youths shouting far-right slogans have gate-crashed university lecture halls where liberal academics have been speaking.

Before the violence broke out at Monday's march, demonstrators chanted: "God, honor, fatherland!" and waved the red-and-white national flag.

"I believe that Polishness is under threat," said one marcher, Grzegorz, who said he was 30. "The Polish government is incompetent and a threat to Polishness."

Another protester, who gave his name as Mateusz, said he had come to "manifest my patriotism."