Thousands protest against Polish government

(Vatican Radio)  Tens of thousands of people have taken part in protests across Poland against the recently rightwing government who critics say threatens democracy with moves to overtake the country's top court and other previously independent institutions. The rallies, held for a second Saturday in a row, also came a day after security forces raided a counter intelligence agency linked to the NATO military alliance.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

"We will defend the democracy" they shouted. These protesters are among some 20,000 people gathering in front of the Polish parliament, the Sejm, to demonstrate against attempts by the new government to control the Constitutional Tribunal. 

Similar protests were also held in several other cities. The Law and Justice party, which took power last month, already controls both houses of parliament and the presidency. That left the constitutional court as the only effective check on its power. 

But in recent weeks the government has moved to stack the court with its supporters. That's not all. It now now plans legislation that critics say will essentially make the Constitutional Tribunal unable to work. 

15-judge tribunal

A key provision of the law, scheduled to be passed Monday, will require a two-thirds majority by the 15-judge tribunal for any ruling to be valid. Observers say such a majority is almost impossible to achieve on contentious issues.

Among those participating in Saturday's rallies were former anti-Communist dissidents and other elderly people. Demonstrators who lived through World War Two, its famed Warsaw Uprising and decades of Communist rule said they fear the current government will end Poland's 26 years of democracy. 

"We were before before the Second World War. We were here also when there was the Warsaw Uprising [against the Nazis] and lived through many years of the Communist time. We want to have freedom and we were [since 1989]. But now they want to take it, and change it," an elderly man said. 

Another demonstrator agrees. "I don't know how to even explain it. The government took the wrong direction, so that's why we are here," he said.      

Purging Poland's adminstration

The protests came a day after Polish military police raided a NATO-affiliated counterintelligence center in Warsaw before dawn on Friday as the current director refused to step down.   

Former Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said Poland's current Law and Justice government, is purging Poland’s administration and installing its own people. “One does not do such matters in this way," he said.

"It needs to be negotiated internationally. Everything can be solved by law and not in the night, forcing the door. This is an absolute scandal,” Siemoniak added. 

Within the European Union critics are concerned that EU-member state Poland moves towards a similar direction as Hungary where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been accused of threatening independent institutions ranging from the media, central bank to even churches.