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In the recent presidential election, the party’s candidate Andrzej Duda unleashed attacks on what he called “LGBT ideology.”Įarlier this week Przemysław Czarnek, a PiS MP, denounced “LGBT ideology” on an ultra-Catholic radio station for having the same roots as Marxism and “Hitler’s National Socialism.” It’s also added to tensions between the EU and Poland, after Brussels rejected grants for Polish towns that had adopted anti-LGBTQ pledges. Gay rights have become a burning political issue in Poland, in large part thanks to the nationist Law and Justice (PiS) party government, which has used the issue to build support among the most conservative parts of the electorate. “A fundamental condition of every civilized debate about tolerance is defining the boundaries of that tolerance … certain boundaries were crossed.” In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called it “an act of vandalism” that was aimed at dividing society. In a manifesto published online, demonstrators said: “As long as our flag disgusts anyone or is seen as ‘inappropriate’ we promise to provoke.” Last week, activists hung flags on the statutes of national heroes such as Nicholas Copernicus, as well as a mermaid that is the symbol of Warsaw and a statue of Jesus Christ outside a large downtown church. Polish law protects religious sentiments and statues. Officers are investigating “the matter tied to insulting religious feelings and disrespecting Warsaw monuments,” the police said. WARSAW - Polish police arrested three people linked to protests in which rainbow flags were hung on statues in Warsaw, authorities said Wednesday.