A group of Polish far-right supporters scuffled with police in Wrocław late on Monday (November 11) after a march marking Poland's Independence Day was ended by city authorities due to racist remarks. Fourteen people were arrested, 5 were injured, including 3 police officers.
Police used water cannons and batons to disperse the demonstrators who were holding banners with anti-LGBT slogans and shouting anti-Semitic chants. The group which scuffled with the police was led by a former priest, Jacek Międlar.
Among the slogans and chants that could be heard on Monday were "once the sickle, once the hammer, hit red rabble", "God, honour, homeland" and "this is Poland, not Polin" (a Hebrew word for Poland).
Fourteen demonstrators were arrested and three police officers were injured, Wrocław police said in a statement.
Marches marking Polish independence are annual events that have become a focus of friction between nationalists and liberals.
Tens of thousands of Poles took part in a far-right march in Warsaw on Monday, which in the past has seen scuffles between participants and police break out. More families with children are starting to join the marches.
On November 11, Poles commemorate the establishment in 1918 of the second Polish Republic, created after World War One from parts of what was then Russia, Germany and Austria.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters