The maps published in leading papers look a bit like the Nazi ghetto and, promises of the police shutting down the city remind people of ZOMO and the 80s.

At a time when the Polish politicians and businesspeople desperately want to improve their world prestige and Leszek Balcerowicz is being seriously considered to head the IMF, a successful and peaceful summit is key. The powers that be want to forget about miners setting police on fire last summer, about the hundreds of strikes occurring yearly, about unemployement that's hit over 200%, about mass public discontent with the government and corruption scandals, about the fact that the farmers' Samoobrona looks set to take 25% of the electorate, about growing dissatisfaction with the upcoming higher prices and taxes that EU accession will bring and about anger over European governments' refusal to let Poles work abroad without restriction. WE, the citizens are supposed to forget about it and be impressed at all the important dignitaries and business leaders that will be honoring us with their presence in Warsaw. We are suppose to greet these people with open arms as, we are told, their cash will eventually save us.

Housed in glittering 5 star hotels, Poland is supposed to look like a prospering, peaceful country to the guests and, by extension, everybody abroad. And, what is more, the guests are not to know that anybody in the city doesn't want them.

The whole center of the city will be blocked. The security forces have had consultants flown in from Strasbourg and have visited Prague to discuss anti-riot techniques. Disinformation is regularly published in the press and the secret services have told the press about 'informants' they have inside the movement in a tactic meant to get organizers paranoid and disorient them. Yet, despite all this, and despite the fact that we, in fact, are one of the smallest movements in Europe (for a country this size), we are determined to let our criticism be heard and to give them a hard time.


Some new information is on the following web pages: English - info page:
 http://www.alter.most.org.pl/aes/29eng.htm
graphics, posters: www.alteree.hardcore.lt/loga
 http://poland.indymedia.org/pl/2004/03/4296.shtml
Polish: www.wa29.org

Please check the pages again in a while. Unfortunately we are very slow in this area as not everybody is techoscenti. Also, look for information about Alternative Economic Forum. The main page, www.antyszczyt.w.pl can (eventually) take you to English pages on both the Forum and the Protest.