In his announcement, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Michał Sztybel referred to the events related to the peasant demonstration in front of the Voivodeship office, including the entry of demonstrators into the office. A local government official affiliated with the Civic Platform decided to accuse PiS, claiming that the protest… “is being used by political forces.”
The burglary of the office took place when the First Vice-Voivode, Piotr Hemmerling, was determining the composition of the delegation, which I invited for substantive discussions within the office. At that moment the “provocateur” shouted “the voivode invites everyone” and the crowd headed for the door, and some people pushed the police officers away.
– wrote Sztybel.
The voivode noted that “police will provide details, full circumstances and a full recording from inside the building.”
In the statement, Sztybel also commented on the use of pepper spray by police during the attack, which injured a journalist from Poland’s Radio PiK standing nearby.
The voivode emphasized that he had personally spoken to the journalist, expressed his regret about the situation and assured full support if medical assistance was needed. Fortunately, he added, he discovered that no such need existed.
He also stressed that the use of gas should always be a necessity, and that police making such decisions will be informed of the justification for its use.
From the morning, the First Vice Voivode, Piotr Hemmerling, responsible for agriculture, was available to the demonstrators. Then, due to the escalation of the protest, I returned from the meeting (…) with the mayors of rural municipalities. I immediately invited the delegation of demonstrators to enter
– Sztybel emphasized.
I regret that the protest that raised important issues for the Polish countryside, in which many farmers participated, was used by political forces, and that among the many participants, who sincerely defended the interests of the countryside, there were politicians from Law and They were fair, even though their party’s representative Janusz Wojciechowski is Commissioner for Agriculture at the European Commission
– he added, accusing PiS.
Sztybel announced that, in accordance with the previous statement, he had forwarded the protesters’ demands to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Czesław Siekierski.
The protest in front of the provincial office lasted from the morning until the afternoon. The protest was peaceful for a long time and Deputy Voivode Hemmerling approached the farmers several times.
Even before the meeting with Sztybel County, demonstrators in the courtyard in front of the county office set fire to tires and straw and lit torches. There was fire and thick smoke. The police officers who stood on the office steps and guarded the entrance to the office were the hardest hit.
“The police were forced to intervene.”
When the delegation was invited to the talks, a group of protesters stormed the office and tried to break in. The police then intervened and used pepper spray.
The police were forced to intervene because it was an illegal action. Unfortunately, the force used by the officers was insufficient. Despite calls to stop such actions, protesters did not respond. It was necessary to use a means of direct coercion: pepper spray. Only this made the actions of the police officers effective and these people withdrew
– the press spokeswoman of the provincial police headquarters in Bydgoszcz told PAP, junior inspector. Monika Chlebicz.
After the talks at the voivodeship office and the voivodeship’s speech, the demonstration ended and the tractors that were on the street drove away.
Several hundred tractors came to Bydgoszcz for the protest and occupied parts of Jagiellońska, Focha and Jagiellońska streets. In the last hours of the protest, during the afternoon rush hour, ul. Jagiellońska was completely impassable to the voivodeship office.
tkwl/PAP
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Source: wPolityce