Polish Prime Minister: The riots are not by protesting farmers

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the riots that took place in Warsaw yesterday, Wednesday, were not carried out by protesting farmers, but by rioters.

This came according to what Tusk told reporters before heading to Bucharest, where he continued: “There is nothing to comment on here. Everyone saw what was happening in Warsaw. There were protesting farmers, there were activists from the (Solidarity) movement, and there were “Also individuals who have permitted acts of violence against law enforcement agencies, for political or other reasons.”

Tusk noted that the events were "sad and dramatic for some, for example for injured police officers," but pointed out that this is what protests often look like, when "those with other goals join them."

Tusk explained that his previously scheduled meeting on Saturday with the farmers is still valid, and said: “I will not talk to the rioters, but I will talk to the farmers. As for those whose actions led to serious consequences, such as a policeman being seriously injured, they will be held accountable by law. These are not protesting farmers.” "They are just violators of the law."

During the farmers' street protest yesterday, Wednesday, the demonstrators were unusually aggressive. Near the Prime Minister's Office building, demonstrators sparked clashes with police, setting fire to tires and throwing burning objects towards the building. Near the Parliament building, they dismantled the cobblestone sidewalk and threw stones at the police, wounding a number of police officers.

Farmer protests have been taking place in Poland since the beginning of last February, where the main demands of the protesters are to stop importing agricultural products from Ukraine to Poland, and to abandon the European Union’s environmental plans (the so-called Green Deal), which entail achieving zero emissions in the atmosphere by the year 2050.