On June 8, the Euro Cup opened in Warsaw. The city was full of police,
military police and football fans. ZSP and the Tenants Defense Committee
organized a protest against the politics of the Euro. The protest was
at the main roundabout on the way to the stadium, so thousands of people
passed by. People spoke about the money spent on the Euro and the fact
that UEFA (which was exempted from tax in Poland) and a few businesses
would be big beneficiaries, but that the public has spent already almost
26 billion euros on the spectacle and working people are footing the bill. At the same time that Poland is
spending a lot of money on games, children will go hungry as the city
privatizes school cafeterias, makes cut in social services and raises
the price on everything.
Our
comrade from ZSP also pointed out that the general contractor which
built the National Stadium in Warsaw declared bankruptcy earlier in the
week because of problems receiving payments. This means that a whole
line of subcontractors and workers have also not been paid. They
threatened to block the opening of the Euro, but didn't. The workers at
the stadium for the Euro, who are being cheated and receive less money
than promised, threatened to strike - but didn't. This sort of
situation, where many workers are not organized and are beaten with
defeatism in a country with concillatory unions, is creating more and
more social problems. The protestors called on people to organize
themselves against these types of abuse.
A guillotine was brought and the demonstrators declared that if the politicians continue as they are going, they might have to use it. Instead of more social cuts, the only thing we want cut are the heads of the government.
After the protest a few comrades went to the police station to protest the arrest of activists from Femen who made an action at the Stadium.
Below is a leaflet which was handed out during the protest and a few more photos:
A guillotine was brought and the demonstrators declared that if the politicians continue as they are going, they might have to use it. Instead of more social cuts, the only thing we want cut are the heads of the government.
After the protest a few comrades went to the police station to protest the arrest of activists from Femen who made an action at the Stadium.
Below is a leaflet which was handed out during the protest and a few more photos:
EURO
FOR A FEW
AUSTERITY
FOR THE REST
Why
We are Protesting
The
government has spent around 26 billion euro around the EURO.
Several billion were spent in Warsaw alone. At the same time that the
government is so generous with our tax dollars, we have been
subjected to numerous cuts and austerity measures, since we are told
that Poland is a poor country and we all have to tighten our belts.
The
city has closed down public schools. There are not enough
kindergartens, thousands of children cannot find a place, having
disastrous consequences for many families.
The
city fails to provide adequate public housing and the President of
the city is doing everything to ensure that thousands will be made
homeless with presidential decrees that allow the city to evict poor
families with financial problems.
Public
health care is in miserable condition.
The
city has raised prices for many public services, to a level
many
cannot afford.
The
city has also made drastic budget cuts in many areas, ranging from
culture to social services.
This
is the politics of the state protecting the interests of the rich and
elites, at the expense of working people.
Poland
is trying to sell itself as an economic success and it is central to
the plan of pushing austerity measures around Europe. But this city
is one big Potemkin village, decorated for the games and trying to
hide its misery. And this misery is growing all the time.
In
order for this pyramid of capitalism to collapse, we need to weaken
the fundament which holds it up: our social accord.
Tenants
Defense Committee
Union of Syndicalists (ZSP)
lokatorzy.info.pl
zsp.net.pl
obronalokatorow@gmail.com
info@zsp.net.pl
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