ADVERTISEMENT

Government slams 'neo-Nazi' march claim

President Andrzej Duda termed "absolutely scandalous" and "inadmissible" the remarks made by European Parliament liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt during a Wednesday debate in the chamber.

Ex-Belgian premier Verhofstadt said that "on Saturday 60,000 fascists marched in the streets of Warsaw –- neo-Nazis, white supremacists."

"I'm not talking about Charlottesville in America, I'm talking about Warsaw, Poland, 300 kilometres (186 miles) more or less from (World War II Nazi German death camps) Auschwitz and Birkenau," he added.

Organised since 2009 by far-right groups, the Independence Day event attracted a large following this year.

ADVERTISEMENT

However, many marchers denied membership of or sympathy for extreme right groups, insisting they simply wanted to mark the day.

Aside from avowed members of Poland's far-right, the event also drew representatives of similar parties from Britain, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia, among others.

Dramatic images of the event showed some marchers holding banners saying "Pure blood" and "Europe will be white", while others chanted "Pure Poland, white Poland" and "Refugees get out", triggering outcry both at home and abroad.

Duda himself had insisted on Monday that "there is no place or consent in our country for xenophobia, there is no place in our country for sick nationalism, there is no place in our country for anti-Semitism."

The American Jewish Congress (AJC) urged the "Polish government to expressly oppose the hatred fuelled by the Polish extreme right."

ADVERTISEMENT

The AJC added that the march "was used to promote the slogans of white supremacists and neo-Nazi rhetoric."

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Rising hot weather may prevent chickens from laying eggs, kill 50% in Lagos

Rising hot weather may prevent chickens from laying eggs, kill 50% in Lagos

Ijaw people want FG to tackle communal land disputes at crisis scene

Ijaw people want FG to tackle communal land disputes at crisis scene

Ailments resistant to orthodox drugs, herbal medicine is the assured solution

Ailments resistant to orthodox drugs, herbal medicine is the assured solution

Kano Fire Service rescues 15, saves ₦100m property from 60 incidents in April

Kano Fire Service rescues 15, saves ₦100m property from 60 incidents in April

Uzodimma assures residents of uninterrupted power supply,  5,000 direct jobs

Uzodimma assures residents of uninterrupted power supply, 5,000 direct jobs

FG bans foreign syringes in hospitals, promotes NAFDAC-approved local procurement

FG bans foreign syringes in hospitals, promotes NAFDAC-approved local procurement

Why’s coastal road project not starting from Calabar?  —  MKO’s daughter has an answer

Why’s coastal road project not starting from Calabar?  —  MKO’s daughter has an answer

Ghana ranked 4th most stressful country for workers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ghana ranked 4th most stressful country for workers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Another Boeing whistleblower is dead 2 months after the last one

Another Boeing whistleblower is dead 2 months after the last one

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT