“We will not agree to any solution that would threaten the safety of Poland or the Polish people,” said Minister of the Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński after the Munich summit on migration policy. At the same time, the possibility of holding a referendum in Piotrków Trybunalski was blocked, a referendum in which citizens wanted to say “no” to illegal migration. “Tusk and his government are in a panic fear of citizens’ voices. We must bring about a nationwide referendum. This is the only way to block the neo-Bolshevik ideas of the EU and the Polish government’s implementation of Germany’s migration policy,” said Robert Bąkiewicz, leader of the ROG movement.
Two days after the citizens of Piotrków Trybunalski took to the streets to protest the voivode’s decision regarding their referendum, Minister Kierwiński made strong declarations following the EU interior ministers’ summit in Munich on migration. “His declarations contradict this government’s actions. Tusk is in a panic fear of citizens having a say on migration issues. That’s why, through his party’s activists and his administration, he torpedoes initiatives like the one in Piotrków,” explained Bąkiewicz, pointing out the inconsistency between Kierwiński’s words and the real actions of Civic Coalition (KO) and the government.
Nationwide Referendum
“The city authorities lacked the will to appeal the decision of Voivode Dorota Ryl, who, citing formal loopholes, decided to invalidate the referendum concerning the creation and organization of a foreigners’ integration center in the city. Nearly 7,000 residents signed the petition. We will also not pursue legal action in this case, because what is necessary now is a nationwide referendum, and that will be our focus. We need to unite the forces of those who, across the country, will say ‘no’ to illegal migration and to the current migration policy of this government,” said Beata Dróżdż, the initiator of the Piotrków referendum and chairwoman of the local “Gazeta Polska” club.
“Indeed, local initiatives are valuable, but one must remember that it is a national referendum that will give Polish citizens a powerful tool to resist this government’s migration policy. It will also deliver a clear ‘no’ to the EU’s neo-Bolshevik policy and to Germany’s policy, which dictates the EU’s migration policy,” added Bąkiewicz.
The next step toward this nationwide referendum will be a demonstration taking place this coming Saturday (details are discussed in a separate article in the latest issue of Gazeta Polska Codziennie).
Migration or Money
The opposition to the government’s migration policy and the EU’s actions stems not only from concerns about migration but also from the blackmail of local communities by the government administration.
“I am on my way to Bielsko-Biała, where a resolution opposing the construction of a foreigners’ integration center is about to be withdrawn. There, as in many other municipalities across Poland, a form of blackmail is being practiced: either you accept the construction of centers and the migration policy, or you won’t receive EU funds because you are allegedly violating the principles of tolerance, and so on,” said Bąkiewicz.
Members of Law and Justice (PiS) described the situation in Bielsko-Biała and other places during a press conference yesterday. Local authorities are withdrawing previously adopted resolutions because they do not want to lose funding for their projects. MP Dariusz Matecki described a similar situation in Szczecin: “Local media in Szczecin report that millions in EU funds are at risk because councilors passed a resolution condemning illegal migration. According to these reports, Szczecin could lose 25 million PLN in EU funds earmarked for road infrastructure development. We have a situation where Civic Platform councilors vote for a resolution opposing illegal migration, and a few weeks later, they are forced to withdraw it under pressure from EU bodies. What do roads have to do with issues of mass migration? Do councilors now have to retract their own initiatives simply because Brussels demands it?” said Matecki.
“I call on Donald Tusk’s government: do not be blind executors of the orders from Brussels and Berlin. Stand in defense of Polish local governments and stop this blackmail before it’s too late,” Matecki appealed.
EU Policy – Germany’s Policy
The statements by Bąkiewicz and Matecki about the dominance of the German vision in migration policy were confirmed by the proceedings of the Munich summit. The concrete proposals from that meeting were, in fact, Berlin’s initiatives. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt advocated for the approval of his government’s plans in Berlin. One of them involves establishing “return hubs” outside the EU, that is, centers for returning migrants.
“We attach importance to creating, at the European level, the legal framework and, subsequently, in cooperation with European partner countries and with the support of the European Commission, to establishing such centers,” said Dobrindt, pointing to Denmark, Austria, and the Netherlands as potential partners. The Netherlands is already creating such a center in Uganda. Germany also wants to establish a pan-European migrant database to enable faster deportations under readmission agreements (for instance, from Germany to Poland).