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WORLD NEWS Friday 21 July 2017

Thousands protest in Poland against court reorganizations

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA The crowd later moved to
Associated Press the parliament building
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — where a Senate commis-
Tens of thousands of peo- sion was debating the Su-
ple took to the streets of preme Court law, ahead of
Warsaw and towns across Senate’s Friday session.
Poland on Thursday night Critics say the Supreme
to protest the ruling party’s Court legislation and two
drive to reorganize all levels earlier bills destroy judicial
of the judiciary, including independence and threat-
contentious legislation that en democracy.
gives control of the nation’s In her nationwide speech,
Supreme Court to the presi- Beata Szydlo said that the
dent instead of to judges. legislation was prompted
Poland’s prime minister ap- by public criticism of the
peared on national televi- legal system’s inefficiency
sion to defend the changes and blamed the outcry it
as opponents of her gov- has triggered on the oppo-
ernment urged the presi- sition’s “frustration.”
dent to reject the changes. Szydlo insisted the govern-
Opposition lawmakers ment will not bow to pres-
and celebrities joined the sure “from Polish or from Opposition supporters protest in front of the presidential palace, urging President Andrzej Duda to
crowd in front of the Presi- foreign defenders of the reject a bill voted by lawmakers on court control, in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 20, 2017. The
bill on the Supreme Court has drawn condemnation from the European Union and has led to street
dential Palace in Warsaw interest of the elites.” protests in Warsaw.
as protesters held up can- Her comments appeared (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
dles, waved national and to refer to warnings from
European Union flags and the European Union of Court legislation. Critics chosen by the president. land’s former prime minis-
chanted “free courts” and sanctions against Poland, concede that the judiciary It rearranges the court’s ter, has appealed to Presi-
“democracy.” including the possibility of needs reform, but that the structure and adds a Dis- dent Andrzej Duda for a
Warsaw police spokesman stripping Warsaw of its EU proposed changes are go- ciplinary Chamber that meeting to seek ways out of
Mariusz Mrozek said some voting rights. ing in the wrong direction. would handle breaches of the situation that, he said,
14,000 participated, while Szydlo spoke after law- The bill also calls for the dis- rules or ethics in the justice goes against EU values and
city hall estimated the makers voted to approve missal of the court’s current system. European Union is destructive to Poland’s in-
crowd at 50,000. the contentious Supreme judges, except for those president, Donald Tusk, Po- ternational image.q

Austria urges stop to moving migrants to Italian mainland

GEORGE JAHN reporters that Austria ex- Kurz suggested instead that warnings from Kurz and right People’s Party ahead
Associated Press pects an end to the prac- migrants be stopped at the Austrian Interior Minister of October general elec-
VIENNA (AP) — Austrian tice of transporting mi- EU’s outer boundaries and Wolfgang Sobotka that tions.
Foreign Minister Sebastian grants to the mainland by returned after receiving Austria is ready to shut the The Brenner Pass is one of
Kurz on Thursday urged ferry. He said that if it con- humanitarian and medical Brenner Pass should there the principal routes con-
his Italian counterpart not tinues, more migrants will help. He acknowledged be a marked increase in necting Italy with northern
to allow migrants arriving make their way northward that he and Alfano were illegal migrant crossings Europe and is particularly
by boat to Italy’s islands to other EU countries, “in- “not yet agreed” but de- there from Italy. With no heavily used during the
to travel on to the main- creasing overload for Cen- scribed the atmosphere of signs of such developments summer vacation season.
land, declaring that “being tral Europe,” encouraging the talks as “reasonable” and migration a top con- Austrian officials have said
saved in the Mediterranean others to undertake the considering ongoing ten- cern among Austrian vot- they are ready to deploy
cannot be connected with perilous journey from North- sions between the two ers, Italian politicians ac- armored vehicles to the
a ticket to Central Europe.” ern Africa and further lining countries over the migrant cuse the two of playing up border crossing to pre-
After meeting with Italy’s the pockets of human traf- issue. Italy’s government the issue to increase the vent migrants reaching
Angelino Alfano, Kurz told fickers. is alarmed over repeated popularity of their center- Austria.q