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Protests in Poland Sparked by Perceived Assaults on Democracy

by VOA News

   Opponents of Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party remained in
   front of Poland's parliament building Saturday morning hours after
   police used force to remove blockades of the building's exits.

   The protesters, who also are staging a new rally outside Poland's
   presidential palace, are opposed to a series of government steps they
   consider anti-democratic.

   The protests occurred after the government approved a plan to restrict
   journalists' access to members of the parliament.

   Opposition lawmakers protested the plan on Friday and blocked a vote on
   the 2017 budget. Ruling party lawmakers then moved to a nearby hall and
   approved the budget, a move the opposition said was illegal because it
   was impossible to confirm that the required number of legislators was
   present.

   The ruling party assumed power less than a year ago and the protests
   have sparked Poland's biggest parliamentary crisis in years.