Poland – Faith Matters https://www.faith-matters.org Working with Faith Communities Countering Extremism, Supporting Integration & Challenging Hatred. Founded by Fiyaz Mughal Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:47:13 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/favicon.png Poland – Faith Matters https://www.faith-matters.org 32 32 95725945 Why the Home Office must stop these Polish far-right politicians from entering the UK https://www.faith-matters.org/why-the-home-office-must-stop-these-polish-far-right-politicians-from-entering-the-uk/ Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:47:13 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=10438

Faith Matters calls on the Home Office to stop two far-right politicians from Poland from speaking at a community event in Manchester on Sunday, May 1.

Those names include the disgraced former MEP and far-right extremist from Poland, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, and Konrad Berkowicz of the far-right Confederation bloc, which we’ve highlighted before.

We made the same call about Mikke in 2018.

We are indebted to the organisation A Million Poles for making us aware of the event next week.

Part of our updated dossier to the Home Office highlights Mikke includes recent anti-Muslim content on Twitter, including propagating outlandish conspiracies about a so-called Islamic’ takeover’.

Credit: Twitter.

On Twitter, Mikke has pushed disinformation and propaganda about the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the ICC agrees to investigate war crimes.

Credit: Twitter.

Mikke supported the far-right media personality Eric Zemmour in the French election – LGBT+ groups are suing Zemmour for Holocaust revisionism over his denial about the deportation of gay men by the Nazi machine of tyranny.

When informed on Twitter that the falangist fascist dictator of Spain, Franciso Franco was “Jewish”, Mikke scoffed, stating that he “smashed” communism, before adding, “But you have to fight the JEWISH COMMUNE, because it is an intelligent, very dangerous enemy!”. The account Mikke quoted with this reply posts highly inflammatory and racists statements like, “Being jew/muslim is far worse for me than racemixing.”

Mikke’s use of Twitter has, over the years, targeted the Swedish furniture giant in July 2019, calling for the boycott of these “homo-fascists” in Poland. Much has also been written about their political aspirations to curtail LGBT+ rights in Poland.

Credit: Twitter.

It’s easy to find other examples of racist speech on Mikke’s Twitter – including a grotesque antisemitic meme captioned with the N-word.

Mikke has called for lowering the age of consent for children as, “There are girls who are 12, 13, and completely mature.”

Janusz Korwin-Mikke, Grzegorz Braun, Artur Dziambor, Robert Winnicki and Konrad Berkowicz (of the far-right Confederation bloc) faced widespread condemnation for standing beneath a banner which read “Vaccination sets you free”, echoing the “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign which hung outside the Auschwitz death camp and other Nazi concentration camps.

In 2019, Berkowicz put a kippah (skullcap) on the head of a rival lawmaker Anna Krupk, during a debate on restitution for Jewish Holocaust victims, the Times of Israel reported.

The Confederation bloc opposed a motion supporting Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

On Facebook in 2019, Berkowicz claimed that LGBT communities have “disturbed urges”. In 2016, Berkowicz shared an anti-Muslim meme linking refugees to ISIS as a “trojan horse” to enter Europe.

In 2020, the JPost reported that Mikke said on Polish television that “Murderous pogroms against Jews in Europe had a positive outcome because the weak in the Jewish community died and the strong survived”, which he used to claim that Covid-19 was ‘eradicating’ the weak and ‘improving’ the human gene pool.

Years earlier, Mikke made a Nazi salute in the EU Parliament in 2015 and 2014, claiming that the fascist dictator Mussolini was merely “trying to protect Jews” and that Hitler’ knew nothing’ about the Holocaust in a 2014 article where he expressed abhorrent views on rape.

The Polish anti-racism organisation Never Again told Faith Matters, “”The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is dismayed by the planned meeting of the Polish far-right leaders in Manchester. We are seriously concerned they are going to promote their hatred and bigotry among the Polish community in the UK. This meeting has to be prevented and the preachers of hate must not be allowed to sow division and strife.”

]]> 10438 Exclusive: Tomasz Greniuch & the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) in Poland https://www.faith-matters.org/exclusive-tomasz-greniuch-the-institute-of-national-remembrance-ipn-in-poland/ Tue, 23 Feb 2021 18:00:18 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=9633

The recent resignation of Tomasz Greniuch raises fundamental questions about how one of the most critically important institutions in Poland, the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), carries out its due diligence of potential staff and why it did not intervene sooner, as Greniuch’s links to the far-right are no secret.

As our investigation reveals, Greniuch’s links to the far-right, ultranationalist National Radical Camp (ONR) run as late as 2018.

Jewish and anti-racist groups raised their concerns, with some calling for his sacking. Now, two weeks later, his tenure ends not by firing but resignation.  What due diligence did the IPN carry out? We stress that none of Greniuch’s activities was a secret, found openly on various blogs, social media, and newspapers, including information he openly shared.

Greniuch offered a public apology, published in English on the IPN website.

Faith Matters details its original investigation below, having updated the story to reflect the above.

The appointment of a former far-right activist to a local branch of the IPN has caused shock across Poland, with one major anti-racism organisation calling for his resignation.

The appointment of Tomasz Greniuch, published in a press release on February 9, was combative, insisting that Greniuch had ‘apologised’ for his ‘past mistakes’ made in his ‘youth’.

Faith Matters, however, can reveal the links to the far-right are more recent, as three speaking events in 2018 had the sponsorship of, or included Mr Greniuch speaking in front of the flags of the ultranationalist, neo-fascist National Radical Camp (ONR), having founded a local branch in Opole.

On March 16, 2018, Civitas Christiania listed Greniuch as their keynote speaker in an event sponsored by the ONR (their logo appears on the official promotional poster).

     

Mr Greniuch promoted the Facebook event (the text of which referenced the ONR) on a promotional page for his book Śmiertelni – Historia oparta na faktach.

The second speaking event, uploaded to YouTube on May 21, 2018, features an introduction given by a woman wearing the ONR armband, and throughout the discussion, the ONR flags appear on either side of Greniuch.

The third event, dated (per the upload on YouTube), as of September 22, 2018, featured Greniuch and was co-sponsored by a local ONR chapter (their banners and flags appear in the background throughout).

Promotional materials for another speaking event from Greniuch in February 2018 included sponsorship from the nationalist clothing brand ProPatriae. The owner of this clothing brand, Jakub Sadowski, had links to the ONR leadership, according to Oko Press.

In 2016, ProPatriae publicly thanked Greniuch for wearing their clothing on Facebook.

Other sponsors included the website Kierunki (which has retweeted ONR accounts and Twitter and gives a platform for their propaganda).

The final sponsor is Marsz Niepodległości – which organises the Independence Day marches. Its founder, Robert Bąkiewicz, was described as being an ‘important’ member of the ONR.

Away from far-right-sponsored events and indeed activities within Poland, as in late 2017, Greniuch spoke at the now-infamous Slough book fare event, profiled by BBC Newsnight a year later, following revelations that funds from the Polish Embassy went towards the event.

The full Newsnight investigation includes quotes from Greniuch (but does not name him). One such quote includes reference to “ethnic transformation” being “a real biological time bomb.”

Credit: BBC Newsnight

Other photos of Greniuch at the Slough event appeared on subsequent social media posts.

Various reports about Greniuch and the ONR have appeared over the years in the Polish-language media.

Nor has he escaped the attention of the English-language media either. In November 2019, the Jewish Telegraph Agency reported his appointment within the Opole branch of the IPN.

Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress and Chairman of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation, discussed Greniuch’s appointment in a broader article which began: “I am deeply concerned for Poland. Something is changing, and I’m afraid a country I care about deeply is moving in a very dangerous direction.”

Both Notes from Poland and Polish News report that Greniuch is “mentioned as one of the originators of the first nationalist demonstration on the occasion of Independence Day in Warsaw in 2006.”

The vice-president of Wroclaw, Sebastian Lorenc, condemned the appointment on Facebook. The anger in Wroclaw has not gone away either, with protests and even a resignation occurring.

Other politicians called for his resignation.

On Twitter, the Israeli Embassy spoke of their ‘surprise’ at the appointment, urging Greniuch to visit the Auschwitz museum.

The anti-racism organisation Never Again said: “The Institute of National Memory is one of the most important and powerful institutions in Poland. The nomination of Tomasz Greniuch to one of its key positions is shocking and disgusting. It illustrates the current breakdown of democratic values in Polish society and the strength of far-right historical revisionism and Holocaust distortion. It spits on the graves of the victims of fascism. We call for his immediate dismissal.”

Faith Matters investigation of Greniuch’s historic ONR agitations in Opole included a notorious public eulogy of the convicted Holocaust denier Dariusz Ratajczaj in 2012.

Read more: Neo Fascist ONR, Oboz Naradowo-Radykalny, Offshoot in Manchester

]]> 9633 Poland rejects international criticism over LGBT rights https://www.faith-matters.org/poland-rejects-international-criticism-over-lgbt-rights/ Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:13:29 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=9259

Polish leaders have rejected suggestions that LGBT people are deprived of any of their rights in the country.

The rejection follows an open letter from 50 ambassadors and international representatives citing a need to work for “non-discrimination, tolerance and mutual acceptance”.

The ambassadors’ appeal comes as an increasingly visible LGBT community in Poland has faced a backlash from the right-wing government, many local communities and the Catholic church.

“Human rights are universal and everyone, including LGBTI persons, are entitled to their full enjoyment,” the letter said, using the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he agreed that every person deserves respect but that he completely disagreed with the ambassadors’ claim that LGBT people were being deprived of that.

Mr Morawiecki said at a news conference: “To the dear ambassadors, I can only say that tolerance belongs to Polish DNA. Nobody needs to teach us tolerance, because we are a nation that has learned such tolerance for centuries and we have given many testimonies to the history of such tolerance.”

Some of Poland’s leaders, including the president and MPs from the ruling party, have cast the movement for civil rights for LGBT people as a threat to traditional families. President Andrzej Duda won a second term this summer after calling LGBT rights an “ideology” more dangerous than communism.

Meanwhile, dozens of towns in conservative parts of eastern and southern Poland have passed mostly symbolic resolutions declaring themselves to be free from “LGBT ideology”. Many of the declarations express the view that young people will be demoralised if confronted by the issue.

“Human Rights are not an ideology – they are universal,” US ambassador Georgette Mosbacher tweeted. “50 Ambassadors and Representatives agree.”

Joachim Brudzinski, deputy head of the ruling Law and Justice party who is now a European Parliament member, shot back at Ms Mosbacher on Monday, saying “we in Poland also agree”.

“Therefore, we are waiting with hope for the next letter, this time in defence of murdered Christians, imprisoned #ProLife activists, people dismissed from work and persecuted for quoting the Bible, people subjected to euthanasia against their will,” he wrote on Twitter, along with some other examples of alleged abuse of Christians.

It was not exactly clear what Mr Brudzinski was referring to. Poland is a predominantly Catholic nation where Christians do not face persecution and where abortion is illegal in most cases and euthanasia is outlawed. In one case, however, an IKEA employee in Poland was fired for citing Biblical passages to suggest gay people should be killed. The current government has spoken in the employee’s defence and a state prosecutor is suing the IKEA manager who fired him.

READ: The Changing Face of Hate in Poland: From Antisemitism to Anti-Muslim Racism

]]> 9259 MURAL – Mutual Understanding, Respect and Learning https://www.faith-matters.org/mural-mutual-understanding-respect-and-learning/ Fri, 20 Dec 2019 15:09:47 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=8771

MURAL – Mutual Understanding, Respect and Learning is an international project that brings together six partners from across the EU – Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. It is led by the British Council, with participating organisations selected based on their commitment to supporting dialogue and exchange of best practice to foster tolerance and mutual respect. MURAL is co-funded by the European Commission under the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme.

MURAL aims to address the increase in anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe by supporting tolerance and respect for different faiths, religious beliefs and ethnicities. The project promotes the principles of pluralistic and democratic societies. It aims to foster transnational cooperation, exchange of knowledge and exchange of best practice to encourage tolerance and counter attitudes that contribute towards acts of hatred and discrimination. This will be achieved as follows:

  • Increased tolerance and understanding of how to promote inclusion by developing a cohort of social activists committed to improving dialogue, mutual respect and valuing different perspectives
  • An empowered network of social activists and key stakeholders, who will be agents of positive change in their communities
  • Promotion of transnational learning on themes, approaches and actions to countering discrimination and promoting inclusion.

MURAL will harness people’s power for advocacy and their desire for social change to creatively engage communities. Working with local activists and leaders will enable us to build continuity and sustainability into the programme, as they will carry their knowledge and commitment to addressing religious discrimination into their careers.

Some of the MURAL social action projects led by Faith Matters’ participants were around improving critical thinking and social media literacy skills that can help counter extremist, hateful, and racist narratives online, assist in identifying bots and cyborgs, and provide practical ways to resist and counter extremist narratives. Others included toolkits to provuided legal information around discrimination and hate crimes.

Click here to view Social Media Literacy Guide Click here to view Hate Crime Toolkit Click here to view Workplace Discrimination

 

MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, RESPECT AND LEARNING PROJECT (MURAL) AND THIS WEBSITE HAVE BEEN FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION’S RIGHTS, EQUALITY AND CITIZENSHIP PROGRAMME (2014-2020). THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR AND CAN IN NO WAY BE TAKEN TO REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION.

]]> 8771 Exclusive: Polish Group Organising Independence Day Rally in Peterborough Has Problematic Past https://www.faith-matters.org/exclusive-polish-group-organising-independence-day-rally-in-peterborough-has-problematic-past/ Sat, 10 Nov 2018 19:54:32 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=8034

A Polish community group which is organising an Independence Day rally in Peterborough tomorrow has previously called for the release of a notorious Polish white supremacist who murdered an anti-Apartheid activist in South Africa in 1993 in hopes of triggering a race war, a Faith Matters investigation can reveal.

We are concerned that Peterborough’s Mayor Chris Ash and Mayoress Doreen Roberts, who, according to organisers, will speak at the event but not attend the march, are unaware of the group’s underlying ideology and links to other far-right groups.

Kristof Jastrzembski, secretary of Komitet Obrony Polski UK, or the Committee for Defence of Poland UK, has given the police assurances that extremism will ‘not be tolerated’ at the march, according to the Peterborough Telegraph.

But there questions to ask as to why such a community group seeks the release of Janusz Waluś.

To seek to answer this question, and to draw attention to the issue, Faith Matters published a groundbreaking report into the rise of far-right sentiment in parts of Poland, and among a minority of diaspora groups in the UK.

A key concern raised in the report, and in our subsequent research, highlights how a minority of far-right groups and extremists are seeking to gain credence in mainstream Polish community groups through a form of entryism, by appealing to a form of Polish patriotism and nationalism by engaging in, or hosting, various community events.

Waluś murdered the anti-apartheid hero and SACP leader Chris Hani in the hope that his actions would trigger a race war in the final days of apartheid in South Africa. He was a member of South Africa’s notorious neo-Nazi group the Afrikaner Resistance Movement. He is still serving a life sentence for his crimes.

Komitet Obrony Polski UK organised a rally in support of Waluś outside of the South African embassy in September 2016.

Mariam Kowalski, a failed presidential candidate in 2015, who represents the far-right National Movement (Ruch Narodowy), attended the London event in support of Waluś. Pressure from the Polish community in Britain, Ealing Police and Ealing Council prevented Kowalski from speaking at a Polish restaurant in west London last year.

The Facebook page of Komitet Obrony Polski added photos of a t-shirt calling for Waluś’s release on October 6, 2016.

Months later, on March 28, 2017, their Facebook page directed supporters to an official support page for Janusz Waluś, where individuals were encouraged to purchase t-shirts.

The group also organised an event in 2016 which featured the controversial far-right Polish historian Leszek Żebrowski.

In January 2017, Komitet Obrony Polski was a signatory to a letter of co-operation alongside the neo-fascist ONR (Oboz Narodowo-Radykalny) and Ogniwo (The Link), groups profiled extensively by Faith Matters.

Trouble at a previous Independence Day rally in 2014 in Peterborough did not result in any arrests.

]]> 8034 Poland: EU steps up legal case to safeguard judicial independence https://www.faith-matters.org/poland-eu-steps-up-legal-case-to-safeguard-judicial-independence/ Wed, 15 Aug 2018 09:14:11 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=7735

The European Commission on Tuesday stepped up its latest legal case against Poland, where the ruling nationalists stand accused of bulldozing the independence of courts and judges, thereby undercutting democracy.

Governed by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, the EU’s largest ex-communist state has most recently enacted laws forcing into early retirement many Supreme Court judges. The bloc, rights groups and domestic political opposition decry that as going against the rule of law.

These moves came after the PiS had already exchanged many judges at the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and heads of many regular courts, while also tightening its grip on public media and controls over non-government groups since coming to power in late 2015.

Now, the head of the Polish Supreme Court has been defying the new law and the situation risks paralysing the court, which validates election results in the country of 38 million people.

“The Commission maintains that the Polish law is incompatible with EU law as it undermines the principle of judicial independence, including the irremovability of judges,” said the EU’s executive on Tuesday as it took to a second level a formal infringement procedure against Warsaw.

Poland now has a month to make amends or the Commission will file a lawsuit at the bloc’s top European Court of Justice.

But the PiS remains defiant and enjoys broad public support – largely thanks to generous social spending – despite its many bitter feuds with the EU.

]]> 7735 Will UK Border Agency Allow in Janusz Korwin-Mikke? https://www.faith-matters.org/will-uk-border-agency-allow-in-janusz-korwin-mikke/ Wed, 04 Jul 2018 11:18:49 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=7477

We have previously written about Janusz Korwin-Mikke, someone who has previously stated that Hitler knew nothing about the Holocaust. His comments have previously targeted Jews, Muslims and Black communities.

Faith Matters highlighted his impending arrival in late May 2018, about a week before he arrived. Having informed the Home Office about his visit to speak in the UK, no action was taken and Korwin-Mikke was allowed in the country. According to this flyer, he is supposed to be speaking in London on Sunday the 8th of July.

Sharing a Platform

Korwin-Mikke spoke at the far-right ‘free speech’ rally in London on May 27th alongside Anne-Marie Waters,(ex-UKIP), and now with the ‘For Britain’ party. The speech was also highlighted by Independent anti-Islam councillor, Ryan MacPherson and was streamed through the ”Pro Great Britain’ Facebook page. Macpherson is a councillor in Ashford, Kent, and has previously called Islam ‘Earth’s most lethal killing machine’.

A day later after the event, MacPherson wrote:

“With Janusz Korwin-Mikke in London yesterday talking about democracy and why the United Kingdom desperately needs electoral reform in order to break the two-party state.”

Visible at the time of Mikke’s speech in May is a person flying a ‘Kekistan’ flag. The ‘Kekistan’ flag is modelled on the Nazi’s Reichskriegsflagge.

The question we therefore pose to the Home Office and the UK Border Agency is, will Korwin-Mikke be allowed in again?

]]> 7477 Janusz Korwin-Mikke – Speaking in London. The Worrying Trend of Entryism into Polish Communities https://www.faith-matters.org/janusz-korwin-mikke-speaking-in-london-the-worrying-trend-of-entryism-into-polish-communities/ Tue, 22 May 2018 01:22:09 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=7344

This Sunday, Janusz Korwin-Mikke will be speaking in London in Hyde Park. Previously a member of the European Parliament, he is no stranger to controversy. Korwin-Mikke has previously stated that Hitler knew nothing about the Holocaust.

Korwin-Mikke will be returning to speak in London again on the 8th of July with one Stanislaw Michalkiewicz. Michalkiewicz has previously stated on Catholic Radio Marja that, “(Poland was) being outmanoeuvred by Judeans (Jews) who are trying to force our government to pay extortion money disguised as compensation”

This is another turn in the worrying trend of speakers from Poland who are entering into the UK with such views. Faith Matters has raised concerns before, since people with such comments are not assisting integration or supporting cohesive communities in the UK. Their past history and their comments simply cause divisions and there is a real attempt to inject these views into the UK context and sphere where there are between 700,000 to 800,000 people of Polish heritage in the UK.

Some of Korwin-Mikke’s statements are breath-taking. He states that the best way to deal with Muslims in Europe is to keep them out and ban them from building mosques and “if need be, oppose them militarily”. Commenting on the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in France, he said that the terrorists “exaggerated” (their response), as they should have only given the Charlie Hebdo ‘blasphemers’, a few lashes instead of killing them. Had they done that, “half of Europe would have applauded them”. In the same tweet he added, “It’s the same thing fighting against anti-Semitism. The Jews exaggerate and then they are surprised anti-Semitism is on the rise. And as usual, it will end with pogroms”.

His view of Muslims is also demonstrated in the following comment, where he stated that, “our enemy is not in Moscow. Our enemies are in mosques. In the mosques of Paris, in the mosques of Marseilles.” He has also gone onto say that, 

“I have no doubts that your daughters and grand-daughters will end up in harems. Muslims despise us, we are doormats to them. Why? Because in modern Europe, life is the highest value. I don’t understand it. To be honest, Muslim civilisation is closer to me than the European Union which is just savage. When the Muslims come, at least they will abolish the VAT tax. They might chop some heads off, but at least they won’t allow any gay parades”.

Korwin Mikke’s has also suggested that Germany should introduce religious apartheid as a solution to problems caused by Muslims.

Racism

It is not just Muslims or Jews who are at the brunt end of Korwin Mikke’s statements. He has stated that, 

“The world is collapsing. 150 years ago, we white people, ruled the world. Today, we are being colonised…….We colonised Africa, it wasn’t the Negroes who colonised Europe. It’s something to be proud of. I am proud of my civilisation”.

During a debate on youth unemployment in the EU Parliament, Korwin-Mikke referred to black people on several occasions as “niggers”, stating that the “minimum wage should be destroyed as we would be treating 20 million young Europeans like niggers”.

Talking about racial segregation, he stated, 

“It’s just like when women can’t enter a male toilet. What’s wrong with black people not being allowed to enter a toilet for whites?”

These are just the array of comments associated with the former EU Parliamentarian. Yet it brings to light again how such people are being invited to speak in the UK and to possibly normalise these views into settled communities of Polish heritage.

Faith Matters has highlighted the issue of entryism into settled communities of Polish heritage in the UK. What we are seeing is a co-ordinated effort by groups and speakers to enter into the UK and poison the minds of people. This is not just unacceptable, it is time that the Her Majesty’s Government seriously look at this issue and the various groups and speakers we have highlighted.

]]> 7344 Neo-Fascist ONR, Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny, Offshoot in Manchester https://www.faith-matters.org/neo-fascist-onr-oboz-narodowo-radykalny-offshoot-in-manchester/ Tue, 17 Apr 2018 23:55:51 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=7257

Oboz Narodowo-Radykalny, (ONR), is also known as the National Radical Camp. It is a fascist and far right organisation which considers itself to be a legacy of the antisemitic movement of the same name which existed during the Second World War.

Three days ago, members of the ONR celebrated an anniversary of the organisation in Gdansk, the heartland of the ‘Solidarnosc’ or Solidarity movement. It was the 84th anniversary of the movement and hosting the march with uniform clad individuals in the heart of Gdansk was a chilling message sent out to others in the nation. Gdansk holds a special place in the heart of many Poles as it was the start of the liberation movement from Communism. By marching in Gdansk, the message was clear, that far right groups were part of Poland. 

Speaking at the event held in a historic hall in Gdansk, the former ONR chairman Artur Zienkiewicz said,

“Poland must remain uniformly culturally and homogeneously ethnic. We will defend our frontiers against immigrants.”

According to Gazeta Wyborcza, a march took place in the streets of Gdansk with several hundred uniformed marchers shouting slogans which included, “we will fight for the Homeland” and “Great Poland, we will defend our holy faith”.

This is a menacing video of ONR members walking through the streets of Gdansk.

In response to this march, the legendary Solidarnosc leader and former President of Poland, Lech Walesa, waded in with the following tweets:

https://twitter.com/PresidentWalesa/status/985394318751002624

Walesa’s Twitter comment highlighted the threat that he saw coming from the ONR. 

“Are these the “values” Poles fought in December 1970 and August 1980 in Gdańsk? I ask when will PiS delegalise them? What do we all wait until they occupy (the) authorities?”

Tentacles to Manchester

In the UK, ONR go by the name of “Narodowa Emigracja” or ‘Nationalist Emigration’. Whilst they are limited to a Facebook group, their activist base is small and based in and around Manchester. About a week ago, activists held a gathering to commemorate the Katyn massacre, the mass execution of Polish military officers by the Soviets in April 1940. The commemoration was held at the Southern Cemetery in Manchester. 

What is particularly worrying is that children can be seen at this memorial meeting and there are potential safeguarding risks here. The arm-bands of ONR are clearly visible as are flags of the neo-fascist group, this in Manchester in the United Kingdom. 

This information will be passed onto the authorities within the UK given the potential of safeguarding risks to children.

 

]]> 7257 ‘Grom Legion’ – Military Enthusiasts With Views and Links That are Concerning https://www.faith-matters.org/grom-legion-military-enthusiasts-with-views-and-links-that-are-concerning/ Sun, 01 Apr 2018 13:47:26 +0000 https://www.faith-matters.org/?p=7209

We have previously highlighted the group Ogniwo, and their links to far right activities. Associated with Ogniwo at certain events has been a military enthusiast group called the ‘Grom Legion’. 

We have received the following information about this group which has a penchant for military weaponry.

Here is a picture from their Facebook page dated early 2016. It shows a picture of a man in military regalia suggesting this is how they deal with the ‘Islamisation of Europe’.

Grom Legion Posting

Additionally, here are Grom Legion individuals meeting with well know far right extremist, Marian Kowalski. We have highlighted his activities and statements before and the posting was also made on their ‘official’ Facebook page. 

 

We were also notified of members of Grom Legion wearing Ogniwo tops. For those who are not aware of Ogniwo, here is information that we posted previously on the group. They are active in the United Kingdom and are of particular concern, given their activities that we have highlighted before. 

 

We are also aware of the fact that Grom shared Ogniwo’s Facebook post, inviting people to the infamous “Independence Day” march in Poland. The invitation below states, “Europe Rises Against Islamization” and both Grom and Ogniwo posted it with the slogan, ‘Tomorrow belongs to us’. The slogan ‘Tomorrow belongs to us’ has been co-opted by extremist far right groups.

 

Lastly, we are aware of the fact that some members of the British police service have posed with individuals from Grom Legion who host stands at community events and who pose in military regalia. Here is an example of this. We therefore urge police forces and those in statutory authorities to reflect carefully on such engagement and to conduct due diligence activities before engaging with groups.

 

 

 

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