One of the largest protests of Polish farmers called “Star March to the Capital” is starting in Warsaw.
Local media report that several thousand people have already gathered in the city centre. Organisers promise that about 50,000 farmers from all over the country will join the rally.
Slawomir Izdebski, head of the Solidarity agricultural trade union, said before the planned march on Warsaw today:
The mood is combative. Buses are coming from all over Poland. There are really a lot of people gathering. We’re getting so many messages we can’t control it.
The farmers intend to arrive at the Sejm, where their delegation will be received by Polish Sejm speaker Szymon Hołownia. The protesters had hoped to meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, but he is visiting Prague today. The protests will take place without tractors, it will be a foot march.
The column of protesters will march through the central streets and hold pickets near the Sejm and the residence of the Polish Prime Minister. The demands to the authorities are already known: to cancel the uncontrolled import of products from Ukraine and the so-called green course introduced by the European Union.
Hundreds of miners are travelling to Warsaw to support the farmers. The protesters intend to convey their demands and the ways of their realisation to the country’s prime minister. They plan to hand the same petition to the speaker of the Sejm. If they do not sign, all major cities will be paralysed on 28 and 29 February.
The police have taken special precautions; four thousand officers will protect order in the capital. Law enforcers have warned about the closure of some streets where the agrarians’ march will take place. Warsaw residents are also advised not to plan to visit the city centre during the protest hours.
Protests of Polish farmers have not subsided for many weeks. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Polish President Andrzej Duda and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to come to the border by 24 February to pacify the protests of Polish agrarians and transporters. However, the Polish delegation did not come to the border, saying that the talks could take place only at the end of March.
