Comitet Obrony Demokracji

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Komitet Obrony Demokracji
(KOD)
Emblem of KOD.svg
purpose Civil rights, separation of powers, promotion of democracy
Chair: Krzysztof Łoziński
Establishment date: Dec. 2, 2015 (official entry)
Seat : Warsaw
Website: komitetobronydemokracji.pl

The Komitet Obrony Demokracji (German Committee for the Defense of Democracy , abbreviated to KOD) is a Polish citizens' movement launched in November 2015 to protest against the alleged total capture of state institutions by the Law and Justice party, which has been the sole ruling party since the 2015 parliamentary election .

The movement claims to be independent and non-partisan, but is mainly supported by left and liberal personalities and opposition parties.

development

Inspiration for the formation of the KOD was published in an online portal on November 18, 2015 article the journalist and civil rights activist Krzysztof Łoziński , of establishing a civil society platform modeled on the Komitet Obrony Robotników (KOR), an opposition movement in what was then communist Poland , called . Mateusz Kijowski , a civil rights activist, took up the idea and presented it on Facebook. Within two weeks he received over 30,000 supporters.

As a sign of his movement, Kijowski chose an electrical component, the resistance (Polish opornik or rezystor ). This small component is a recognizable symbol of resistance for every Pole and was worn on the lapel or hat 30 years ago during the time of martial law in 1981 .

In interviews, Kijowski says that the KOD is not about overthrowing the legitimately elected PiS, but rather to get it to adhere to the constitution and institutionalized democratic rules of the game.

On November 26, 2015, some supporters of the KOD wrote an open letter from the “citizens of the rule of law” to President Andrzej Duda calling for the three judges elected by the previous government to be sworn in to the Constitutional Court.

Because of the failure to heed the appeal and the government's refusal to publish the decision of the Polish Constitutional Court on the election of judges in the Official Gazette (which would trigger its entry into force), the KOD called for a demonstration march on December 12, 2015 in Warsaw. According to the organizers, up to 50,000 demonstrators took part, according to police figures, they range from 17 to 20,000 demonstrators.

A little later the government published the judgment of the Constitutional Court, which is partly seen as a success of the KOD. Nevertheless, the government and the President continue to question the validity of the judgments because of alleged constitutional deficiencies.

Demonstration in Gdansk on December 19, 2015
Demonstration in Łódź on January 9, 2016 - in the center Mateusz Kijowski
Demonstration in Piłsudski Square in Warsaw on May 7, 2016

On December 19, 2015, the KOD again called for demonstrations. In addition to Warsaw, demonstrations against the new government were also held in 20 cities across the country. Smaller rallies also took place in foreign cities such as Berlin, London and Brussels. Prominent supporters such as the director Agnieszka Holland or the publicist Tomasz Lis gave speeches or read the constitution. Members of opposition parties also took part in the rallies.

New demonstrations took place on January 9, 2016. In Warsaw, the organizers assumed 20,000 participants, while the police estimate 7,000 to 8,000. On the same day, smaller protest meetings were held in nineteen other cities in Poland as well as in Prague, London, Berlin and Stockholm. The participants protested against the new radio and television law under the slogan "Free Media".

On January 23, 2016, the demos took place in over forty cities in Poland and with a few dozen participants each in Berlin, London, Paris, Melbourne, Brussels and Vienna.

On February 27, 2016, a protest march took place in Warsaw on the occasion of the 100-day reign of the PiS. The leaders of the opposition parties in Nowoczesna , Platforma Obywatelska and Twój Ruch were also officially present . At the same time, support was given to the former Solidarność leader Lech Wałęsa , who at the time was accused of spying for the communist secret service SB in the 1970s . Depending on the source, between 15,000 and 80,000 Poles took part in the demo.

On March 12, 2016, another protest took place in Warsaw with between 15,000 and 50,000 participants, depending on the estimate. It was co-organized by Nowoczesna. There was a demonstration against the refusal of the Polish government to recognize the negative decision of the Constitutional Court on the reform of the Constitutional Court . The day before, because of this refusal, there was a small, spontaneous demonstration by the left-wing Razem party in front of the Prime Minister's office, which was supported by KOD supporters.

A survey carried out by Millward Brown on March 22-23 , 2016 for TVN and TVN24 shows that half of those questioned saw the demonstrations organized by the KOD as "unnecessary", while 41% supported them.

On May 7, 2016, on the occasion of Europe Day, a protest march took place in Warsaw under the motto “We are and will remain in Europe” . The demo was organized and supported by KOD and several opposition parties, associations and professional associations. According to the city administration, around 240,000 demonstrators took part, according to police figures 40,000. The large discrepancy between the two dates sparked a discussion in the Polish media about the actual number of demonstrators. Using high-resolution video recordings, the editors of the liberal Gazeta Wyborcza counted every single person at equal intervals and finally came to 55,600 demonstrators with an error rate of +/- 3,000.

In order to act more unanimously against the course of the ruling party PiS, KOD, Nowoczesna, PSL and various extra-parliamentary groups founded the loose coalition called "Wolność, Równość, Demokracja" ( "Freedom, Equality, Democracy" ) that same month . Only the largest opposition party, the Citizens' Platform (PO), represented in parliament, did not join this association.

On June 2, 2016 it was announced that KOD would receive the European Citizens Award of the EU Parliament.

After the donation affair surrounding Mateusz Kijowski in 2017, KOD lost its political importance. Criminal proceedings for breach of trust were opened against him and other leading figures in the KOD in 2018. Kijowski is said to have embezzled donations amounting to over 100,000 PLN by collecting them for allegedly fictitious IT services from his wife's company.

Attendees

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Note text

Prominent participants in the demonstrations (selection)

See also

Web links

Commons : Committee for the Defense of Democracy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Henryk Jarczyk: "You are destroying our democracy". December 12, 2015, accessed January 5, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Thousands demonstrate in Warsaw. December 19, 2015, accessed January 5, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Krzysztof Łoziński: Trzeba założyć KOD . In: Studio Opinii. 18th November 2015
  4. ↑ Renata Grochal, Agata Kondzińska & Iwona Szpala: 13 grudnia od nowa. KOD pod TK w obronie demokracji, marsz PiS w obronie władzy i pikieta pod domem Kaczyńskiego . In: Gazeta Wyborcza . December 11, 2015
  5. ^ Poland: Tens of thousands demonstrate against President Duda . In: Spiegel Online . December 12, 2015
  6. ↑ Policja: na marszu KOD od 17-20 tysięcy protestujących. In: wiadomosci.onet.pl. December 13, 2015, accessed December 13, 2015 (Polish).
  7. ^ Poland: Tens of thousands demonstrate for democracy . In: RP-online . 20th December 2015
  8. ↑ Demonstracje KOD w obronie wolnych mediów. In: rp.pl. January 9, 2016, accessed January 9, 2016 (Polish).
  9. ↑ Manifestacje KOD w kilkudziesięciu miastach. "Never godzimy się na inwigilację" , In Polskie Radio
  10. ↑ Thousands of Poles demonstrate for freedom from Deutsche Welle on February 27, 2016
  11. ↑ "Przywróćmy ład Konstytucyjny". Manifestacja opozycji w Warszawie. onet.pl
  12. ↑ Tens of thousands protested against the Polish government from orf.at on March 12, 2016
  13. ↑ Manifestacje KOD potrzebne? Polacy podzieleni. In: tvn24.pl. March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016 (Polish).
  14. ^ Mass rally against the government from: ORF (online) on May 7, 2016
  15. ↑ 30 tys.? 240 tys.? Policzyliśmy GŁOWA PO GŁOWIE, ile osób nagrała kamera na marszu KOD. In: Gazeta.pl. May 16, 2016, Retrieved May 16, 2016 (Polish).
  16. ↑ Lider KOD: Zawiązaliśmy koalicję "Wolność, Równość, Demokracja" from: PAP of May 5, 2016
  17. ↑ The Committee for the Defense of Democracy has been awarded the European Parliament's European Citizen's Prize 2016 from: KOD's Facebook page from June 2, 2016
  18. ↑ https://www.rmf24.pl/ Fakty/polska/news-ruszyl-proces-bylego-lidera-kod-u-kijowski-misternie-przygot,nId, 2599331