On June 19, an action entitled "Real Democracy Now", called by some Spanish students and local activists, was held in Warsaw. There were some open discussions on the Copernicus Sq. about the nature of democracy, problems in society, etc. etc. The local ZSP participated, along with some international comrades, from CNT-AIT, SP-AIT and KRAS. Since we had a slightly different idea about what "real democracy" means, we handed out leaflets (in different languages) explaining ideas of self-management and why we are against all forms of government. There were many discussions with passersby, although few took part in the action. Poland is still a long way from Spain or other countries were such mass public meetings have recently taken place.
ZSP called on people to be more active in public life and to take action against the anti-social decisions of the government. As an example, it mentioned the recent increases in the price of public transport, nursery schools and utilities such as water. This decision was highly unpopular among people, but there were no protest movements to stop it (ZSP and the tenants movement were literally the only ones to mobilize). Now there is a chance to overturn the decision by referendum. It is much harder to do, but still possible. It would have probably required less effort to protest beforehand than try to change it later. Nonetheless, we think this decision should be fought, not accepted - and all depends on if people mobilize. ZSP will be active in this campaign in the next two months.
We also stated that this year, as always, we will be boycotting the elections and we call on people to become more active in grassroots movements and try to build forms of self-organization. During the summer we will be moving around the neighbourhoods, again trying to make local assemblies. It is a long and difficult task but we hope that in the future such initiatives will inspire people's imagination and bear fruit.
Some photos from today's action are below. The text of the leaflet in Polish is
here.
