Despite ban, Europe’s largest right-wing rally may go ahead – By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska (Al Jazeera) / Nov 10 2020
Nationalists say they will ignore calls by mayor to ban annual Independence March in Warsaw due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The largest right-wing gathering in Europe has been cancelled this year by the mayor of the Polish capital Warsaw due to the coronavirus pandemic, but participants have promised to still attend.
The Independence March, which takes place on November 11, has in the past attracted up to 100,000 people from Poland and abroad.
This year, however, the atmosphere around the controversial event, which traditionally takes place amid anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ slogans, has been particularly tense.
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to Poland’s streets calling for abortion rights in what has been the biggest demonstrations since the fall of communism.
They are protesting the pro-government Constitutional Tribunal’s efforts to ban abortions, even in cases of fetal defects.
