February 11, 2015
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of angry Polish farmers on Wednesday drove their tractors toward Warsaw, where their leaders were seeking government compensation for crops destroyed by wild boar, profits undercut by Russia's import ban and new market regulations.
The protest added to strikes held by coal miners in southern Poland, in objection to plans to cut jobs and benefits. The unrest appears at a time when Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, who took office in September, is criticized as being a weak government leader. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for the fall and Kopacz's center-right Civic Platform party is facing a serious challenge from the pro-social welfare opposition Law and Justice party.
Many farmers put hand-written "bank-owned" notes on their tractors, to suggest they need bank loans to run their farms. People along the roads waved to them as they drove toward the capital. In an agreement with police, they were stopped on the outskirts, not to block the city.
Radical farmer leader Stanislaw Izdebski left the talks, saying Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki wasn't offering to meet their demands. He warned of an escalation of the protest. Sawicki later said an agreement was reached with other leaders and farmer organizations to work in teams to solve the problems that include pork procurement prices falling under a Russian import ban, excessive costs of milk production and crops lost to wild boar and other wild animals.
"There are civilized ways of solving problems," Sawicki said. "Leaving the negotiating table solves nothing."
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of angry Polish farmers on Wednesday drove their tractors toward Warsaw, where their leaders were seeking government compensation for crops destroyed by wild boar, profits undercut by Russia's import ban and new market regulations.
The protest added to strikes held by coal miners in southern Poland, in objection to plans to cut jobs and benefits. The unrest appears at a time when Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, who took office in September, is criticized as being a weak government leader. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for the fall and Kopacz's center-right Civic Platform party is facing a serious challenge from the pro-social welfare opposition Law and Justice party.
Many farmers put hand-written "bank-owned" notes on their tractors, to suggest they need bank loans to run their farms. People along the roads waved to them as they drove toward the capital. In an agreement with police, they were stopped on the outskirts, not to block the city.
Radical farmer leader Stanislaw Izdebski left the talks, saying Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki wasn't offering to meet their demands. He warned of an escalation of the protest. Sawicki later said an agreement was reached with other leaders and farmer organizations to work in teams to solve the problems that include pork procurement prices falling under a Russian import ban, excessive costs of milk production and crops lost to wild boar and other wild animals.
"There are civilized ways of solving problems," Sawicki said. "Leaving the negotiating table solves nothing."
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