“We expect that tonight the barriers around the Sejm will disappear, even though they have already been unlocked and dismantled by the police,” the newly elected chairman of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, said during a press conference at the seat of the Sejm’s lower house. Polish parliament.
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Hołownia announces the dismantling of the barriers
During the press conference, Hołownia emphasized that the Sejm will be open to journalists, citizens and civil society organizations.
I would like to inform you that in the meantime I have had a conversation with Minister Kaczmarska (Agnieszka Kaczmarska, Head of the Chancellery of the Sejm – PAP) and with the Commander of the Marshal Guard. They contacted the police and I instructed the commander of the Marshal Guard to prepare an appropriate letter. This letter will be sent to the Warsaw police shortly. We expect that tonight the barriers around the Sejm will disappear from under the Sejm, although they have already been unlocked and dismantled by the police. This procedure should begin shortly
– he inquired.
To questions from journalists about the projects related to the liberalization of abortion law, the submission of which had been announced by the left, the chairman of the Sejm replied that they could be processed “at the time of the creation of the Sejm committees.”
Without a committee, bills cannot be processed. I hope that we can quickly appoint parliamentary committees and that then, without delay, with the right procedures and after appropriate checks, all projects that meet the legal conditions will be processed.
– he concluded.
Why were there barriers in front of the Sejm?
It is worth recalling why barriers appeared in front of the Sejm building at all. This happened after the events of December 16, 2016, when opposition politicians began to occupy the plenary hall of the Sejm and protests began in front of the parliament building, organized by KOD, among others. Opponents of the government have repeatedly behaved aggressively. There were also surprising provocations, such as the following situation:
The Sejm was also cordoned off with barriers in the autumn of 2020, during the so-called protests. “Women’s strike” after the Constitutional Court’s ruling on abortion.
“The Sejm is ours!”
Although Hołownia said both during the briefing and earlier, during a speech in the Sejm, that the barriers were “unsecured and dismantled by the police”, in fact the whole “cream” of street activists eagerly began to dismantle them.
Among those who gathered in front of the Sejm were: Citizens of the Republic of Poland, the “Diverse Opposition Brigade”, and in the photos and videos on the “, as well as Sebastian Kościelnik – Seicento driver.
People took matters into their own hands and removed the barriers to the Sejm
– Kościelnik announced on platform X.
The Sejm is ours!
– Citizens of the Republic of Poland were happy.
According to some Internet users, the whole action took place spontaneously. It is probably thanks to this ‘spontaneity’ that we regularly see participants in anti-PiS protests – almost all of them.
Bogdan Olesiński💙💛 @B_Olesinski Varsovians spontaneously dismantle the barriers around the Sejm. And no one attacks anyone, no one invades. What a shock for some. Long live the return of democracy
The issue of dismantling the barriers was raised by TV reporter Maciej Zemła from wPolsce.pl.
I’m going to take a fragment with me as a souvenir, like the Berlin Wall
– KO MP Sławomir Nitras told the journalist.
When the sessions of the new Sejm, elected at the last elections, started democratically, with a democratic majority, the citizens decided that the Sejm would no longer be separated by barriers and were expelled from the Sejm.
– said former KOD leader Mateusz Kijowski.
READ ALSO: REPORT. Session of the Sejm of the 10th term. 460 parliamentarians took the oath. Hołownia, as the new chairman of the Sejm, ordered a break
aja/PAP, X
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.