As protests continue over the anti-piracy ACTA agreement, President Komorowski has asked Poland’s Ombudsman to clarify whether the agreement restricts civil rights.

photo - PAP/Andrzej Hrechorowicz.

President Bronislaw Komorowski sent a letter to civil rights Ombudsman Irena Lipowicz asking her for comments on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement which was signed by Poland and other EU nations last week but has yet to be ratified by parliament.

"Internet and street protests suggest that a significant part of society, especially the young, regard [ACTA as] threatening their basic civil rights," Komorowski writes.

Meanwhile, around 500 people protested against the agreement in Gdansk in northern Poland on Tuesday.

The protests, which follow attacks on government web sites and the hacking into the Prime Minister’s Office web site, have drawn on a wide range from the political spectrum in Poland and not just the anarchist-leaning hacktivist Anonymous collective.

The protest in Gdansk yesterday included members from the Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny (ONR) far-right group.

“Members of ONR responded to the call to picket [the regional government offices] and the rest of the protestors were residents of the [area],” said ONR’s Jakub Albin.

The protestors shouted "No to ACTA", "Down with censorship" and "ACTA - the road to slavery”.

The demonstration was joined by former presidential candidate and right wing maverick Janusz Korwin-Mikke. (pg)



Source: PAP/ONET



