The scandalous situation in Biala Podlaska occurred on Wednesday (30 April) evening. As we wrote on Temat.pl, the crowd gathered under the City Hall watched 1 of the supporters of Grzegorz Braun teardrop the flag of Ukraine from the building. Later, the assembly demanded that it be burned. The full event was condemned by Michał Litwiniuk, president of White Podlaski.
During his speech, he powerfully condemned the behaviour of the crowd, but thanked the city's residents for their strong criticism of this behaviour, as well as the police for their response.
– Proteins request not be explained what patriotism is. Those who realize him wrongly, and whose happenings give satisfaction only to the proputin propaganda and are applauded by it, will not teach the Białczan patriotism," Litwinuk said.
"Police officers from the KMP in Biała Podlaska conduct actions on yesterday's incidental during election gathering of candidate for the office of president Grzegorz Braun", the Lublin police in turn said.
Why didn't the police intervene at the White Podlasie rally?
"Officers have determined the data of the man who downloaded the Ukrainian flag from the City Hall building. Recordings on this incidental are besides analysed in detail. The collected materials will be transferred to the prosecutor's office" – added.
However, the question arose as to why the police did not intervene during the incident.
A spokesperson for the White Podlaska command Barbara Salczyńska-Pyrchla told Onet that the officers wanted not to escalate and face the crowd at the rally.
– Our goal is to guarantee the order and safety of all participants, so of course it was besides about not expanding the conflict. On the another hand, the identity of the man who took photos of the flag is already established. We have secured evidence, and there is simply quite a few this material, so we analyse all of these recordings – the spokesperson said.
Let us stress that Grzegorz Braun is known for his controversial and utmost statements, which are frequently anti-Ukrainian and anti-Semitic. Both he and any of his supporters publically express resentment towards Ukraine and the Ukrainians, especially in the context of war and assistance to refugees.
Braun besides repeatedly spoke in a way that suggested prejudice against the judaic community, which was criticized by organizations fighting hatred speech and government authorities.
