Tag: Poland

In the response to ‘A. Fotyga’s position regarding the calling for the destabilisation of the state’, published on the website of the MEP from the Law and Justice party on 27 July 2017, L. Kozlovska wrote a letter, in which she referred to the issues raised and accusations brought against ODF.

In the light of the recent developments in Poland, one of the most urgent problems is the attack on civil society by governmental administration bodies. Non-governmental organisations, critical of the state authorities (including Obywatele RP [Citizens of Poland], Fundacja Otwarty Dialog

“Currently, there are not regular inspection activities because the system has picked Open Dialog at random but because Minister Kamiński called Minister Waszczykowski and said: “Do something with them” – comments the Head of the Foundation Board Bartosz Kramek.

A women’s organisation has lost about 80 to 90 percent of its funding. Seven hundred court cases have been instituted against participants in protests organised by civil society associations. Another organisation is facing extensive custom and tax inspections.

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017, Gazeta Wyborcza published an interview, given by President of the Open Dialogue Foundation Lyudmyla Kozlovska and President of the Foundation Board Bartosz Kramek to Igor T. Miecik. The text, entitled ‘Open Dialog is defending itself’, is presented below.

On 13.09.2017, at the National Stadium in Warsaw, during the international conference 2017 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting which was an OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights event, we organised a discussion panel on the attack on the rule of law and civil society in Poland.

I first came across the Open Dialogue Foundation in 2011 during OSCE Summit in Warsaw, when, together with MPs of Civic Platform and Law and Justice, the ODF stood up in defence of persecuted pro-democracy activists and miners of Zhanaozen (i.e. crude oil region in Kazakhstan)

An article posted on the website of the Polsat News channel was devoted to the participation of the Head of the Foundation Board of the ODF Bartosz Kramek in the discussion panel organised during the conference of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Enquiry No. 4298 to the Prime Minister regarding the words of Mr Tarczynski on Radio Kielce on 22 August 2017 Submitted by: Artur Gierada, Agnieszka Pomaska, Piotr Cieśliński, Sławomir Nitras, Cezary Tomczyk, Paweł Olszewski, Rafał Trzaskowski Date of receipt: 28 August 2017 Polish Radio Kielce reports — Law and Justice MP Dominik Tarczynski from Świętokrzyskie […]

Even though ODF has not officially received, though any channel, any information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) or the court, the possibility of appointing a compulsory administrator for the Foundation is widely discussed by Polish media such as Newsweek or Wirtualna Polska.

On the 21st August, a Polish journalist and opposition activist during the time of the People’s Republic of Poland, Wojciech Maziarski addressed an open letter to the Polish authorities which was published in social media and on the website of Koduj24.

On 19 July, Onet published a detailed analysis of a report by Marcin Rey, an editor of “The Russian Fifth Column in Poland”, who focused on the activities of the Open Dialogue Foundation and its financing sources

On the 7th August, the Open Dialogue Foundation received another letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this time telling it to urgently delete from the web space „information inciting to undertake illegal activities”.

When they dared to criticise the PiS government, they were accused of arms trafficking, taking money from the Kremlin and being an “agent of influence.” – As a foundation, we support the rule of law and human rights. And we name those who violate them – said Lyudmyla Kozlovska, president of the ODF.

The ODF statement of 14 August 2017 concerning the safety of its workers and donors