Category: Uncategorized

Warsaw’s new policy is aimed at ensuring the “neutrality” of public offices

Poland’s capital Warsaw has instructed civil servants not to display crucifixes and other religious symbols in the workplace, sparking backlash from conservative groups. 

According to the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, officials will not be permitted to hang crosses and crucifixes on the walls or keep them on their desks. Government employees will still be allowed to wear crosses on the job, however. 

The new rules are part of a broader set of regulations aimed at combating various forms of discrimination. Officials were instructed to use gender-neutral language, address people by their preferred pronouns, and not discriminate against same-sex couples. “Warsaw is the first city in Poland to adopt such a document,” City Hall spokeswoman Monika Beuth said.

Some politicians and religious groups responded by arguing that such regulations are inappropriate in a predominantly Catholic country. “I think this decision is unnecessary,” said Szymon Holownia, the speaker of the Polish parliament. “I have found a large number of crosses on the walls of the Sejm. While I personally will not hang crosses in public offices, I don’t think that today in Poland we need a war on whether crosses should be taken down from walls.” 

Conservative MP Sebastian Kaleta promised to ask the prosecutor’s office to check if the capital’s policies violate any laws, while Catholic activist group Ordo Iuris urged people to send complaints to the City Hall.

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Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski defended the new rules and blasted “the hype in the media.” He explained that the guidelines were put in place to ensure an inclusive environment and uphold Poland’s secularism.

“Everyone has the right to their faith, or the lack thereof. This includes civil servants and clerks. [But] anyone who comes to the office to handle their business has the right to feel that he or she is in a neutral office. As simply as that,” the mayor wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. “No one intends to wage a battle against any religion in Warsaw.” 

Speaking at a press conference, Trzaskowski said that the regulations will not apply to hospitals, schools and social welfare centers. He further clarified that although the guidelines bar religious ceremonies from taking place in government buildings, they will not apply to “traditional historical celebrations,” such as the commemoration of the 1944 uprising of Warsaw citizens against the Nazi occupation during World War II.

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The riots in New Caledonia have reportedly stopped after the arrival of heavily armed troops

Additional security forces sent from France have stopped the week-long unrest in New Caledonia, the South Pacific territory’s governor said on Friday. 

The archipelago with 270,000 residents is located between Australia and Fiji, 17,000km from Paris. Indigenous Kanak people, who make up about 40% of the population, rose up earlier this week against a proposed law that would allow new settlers to vote.

High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told reporters on Friday that the deployment of an additional 1,000 security personnel imposed “a calmer and more peaceful situation” in the capital city of Noumea for the first time since Monday, although there were “fires at a school and two companies.”

AFP reporters spotted French troops in red berets carrying gas masks, riot shields and rifles around the city. A shopping center was still on fire and dozens of burned-out cars lined the roads.

Hundreds of people lined up outside the remaining shops looking for food and other supplies. The local chamber of commerce said that up to 90% of the grocery distribution network in Noumea had been “wiped out” in the riots, estimating the damage at around $217 million.

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Five people were killed in the unrest. One gendarme was shot in the head, while another was killed by friendly fire, according to French officials. Three Kanaks – ages 17, 20 and 36 – were killed as well. Two suspects in the killings have been identified and taken into custody.

Announcing the deployment of reinforcements on Wednesday, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the authorities would seek “the harshest penalties for rioters and looters.”

Police have detained around 200 suspected rioters and placed ten Kanak independence activists accused of organizing the turmoil under house arrest. The authorities also banned the social media application TikTok for allegedly being used to organize the riots.

TikTok called the decision “regrettable” and said that “no request or question, no demand to withdraw content, had been made by local authorities or the French government.”

Meanwhile, there has been a 150% increase in New Caledonians signing up to use virtual private networks (VPN) that mask their location, according to one provider.

New Caledonia was colonized by France in the 19th century, but the indigenous Kanaks have repeatedly rebelled against the conquerors. The most recent insurrection ended in 1988, when Paris agreed to grant the archipelago increased autonomy.

This week’s riots erupted after President Emmanuel Macron’s government proposed granting residency – and voting rights – to people who have moved to the islands since and lived there for at least a decade. The Kanak independence activists objected, arguing that this would “dilute” their vote. 

New Caledonia is the world’s third largest producer of nickel, which is used extensively in the chemical, construction, and communications industries.