A wave of protests against the new Minister of Education is sweeping across Poland. Pupils, students, teachers, individuals from the world of science and culture, as well as parents have been manifesting their disagreement with the appointment of Roman Giertych, the leader of the radical right-wing party – League of Polish Families (LPR), for this position. (19-MAY-06)
Written by Marta Lempicka/ HRH Warsaw, photo by Lukasz Kraszynski/ HFHR
Since 6 May, school children and students have been demonstrating and expressing their discontent and frustration due to changes in the government. Among others the following slogans have appeared on banners: “Roman I choose to play truant” (“Roman wybieram wagary”) and Minister Roman Giertych is the Trojan horse of education” (“Minister Roman Giertych to koñ trojañski oœwiaty”). Up till now, protests have been held in Lodz, Czestochowa, Gdansk, Katowice, Poznan, Rzeszow, Szczecin, Wroclaw and Warsaw. During the upcoming weekend further demonstrations are planned in Warsaw, Szczecin and Bialystok. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is monitoring – in Warsaw directly, and in other cities indirectly – the enjoyment of the right to assembly.
The protests are not limited to demonstrations, but have also manifested themselves in spontaneous campaigns of collecting signatures under the open letter to Prime Minister Marcinkiewicz regarding the immediate dismissal of Roman Giertych from the post of Minister of Education. The open letter states that: “In his public activity Roman Giertych uses a language of hate and contempt, propagates praise for violence and negates the value of tolerance. His pedagogical experience is limited to reactivating “The All-Polish Youth”, an organization that refers to fascist tradition.” The letter was signed by around 58 thousand people, including many individuals from the world of science and culture, as well as non-government organizations, inter alia prof. Maria Janion, prof. Wiktor Osiatyñski, Marek Edelman, Halina Bortnowska-D¹browska, Danuta Przywara, Aleksander Smolar, Agnieszka Holland and Andrzej Wajda. The organizers of the campaign have announced that if the appeal is ineffective, the campaign will be resumed starting 23 May.
The Polish Teachers´ Union (ZNP) is also demanding the dismissal of the new Minister of Education. In its statement regarding the appointment of Roman Giertych for the position of Minister of Education, it expresses expectations that an individual with a well-founded pedagogical background, who enjoys the respect of educational circles as well as public approval, will become the Minister. The ZNP has announced a picket in front of the Sejm on 9 June, which will be staged under the banner of protecting Poland’s education from the actions and intentions of the authorities, as these may lead to negative phenomenon in the area of education and upbringing. Among these actions and intentions the ZNP rates inter alia the plans to create the National Institute for Upbringing (Narodowy Instytut Wychowania) and the abolition of the Teachers’ Charter.
Roman Giertych is the head of the League of Polish Families (LPR), a party that opposes Poland’s membership in the EU, is pro-Catholic and nationalist. He is well-known for his homophobic statements. He claims that homosexuals are guilty of inciting the current protests against him.
