Mazowsze

23rd July 2010

“Our main task was to ensure there was no confrontation and we achieved that,” Share:

Warsaw’s EuroPride gay rights festival passed off peacefully, with police successful in keeping those demonstrating for tolerance and understanding apart from other demonstrations in favour of more traditional views of society and sexual relations. In all nine people were arrested and 236 had their IDs checked.

“Our main task was to ensure there was no confrontation and we achieved that,” commented Maciej Karczynski, press officer for the capital’s police.

Ewa Gawor, director of Warsaw’s Office of Security and Crisis Management, was also positive, “I’m pleased with the way all the gatherings passed off, apart from one incident in Plac Bankowym.”

In that incident supporters of the neo-Nazi National Radical Grouping and the All-Polish Youth tried to block the progress of the EuroPride march. These groups had concluded their marches an hour earlier, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to let the gay rights groups know what they think of them, so joined another march “in defence of Europe’s Christian roots”. They headed straight for the EuroPride march, police rapidly threw a cordon around them and prevented a direct assault, but eggs and plastic bottles were thrown.

The nine people were arrested, among other things, for assaulting police officers, throwing eggs and one for possession of drugs. One officer was injured but released home after hospital treatment.

When a rat isn’t a rat

Rumours this week that a plague of rats are infesting children’s sandpits in Mokotow’s Arkadia Park are untrue, the offending rodents turning out to be harmless water voles. “Voles have shorter tails, shorter heads and are smaller than rats,” Andrzej Kruszewicz, director of Warsaw’s Zoo explained to reporters. “They’re native to this country, herbivorous and pose no risk. They’re an endangered species that require protection,” he continued. At least one complaint regarding the creatures has been received by Mokotow council, who plan to improve the fencing around the playground concerned.

Got any change, mate?

A treasure trove of over a thousand ancient coins has been discovered by archaeologists involved in renovation work in the city’s Old Town. A total of 1211 coins, weighing a massive 4kg were displayed to journalists this week. “We were taking a plaster cast and then workes began scraping away the sand under the paving, when we found the patinated coins lying around. Even a piece of the cotton sack they were stored in has survived,” architect Ryszard Cedrowski told reporters. The treasure includes such exotic items as 950 sixes, 250 orts and some tymfs.