Poland Tells 'Infamous' U.S. Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer to Stay Out

While an official ban is not openly in place, the Polish Foreign Ministry has expressed strong objections to Richard Spencer’s visit.
30 October 2017
The Polish Foreign Ministry is not looking kindly on the planned visit of American white supremacist Richard Spencer on the eve of Poland’s Independence Day. Spencer has been booked to appear as a panelist at a debate hosted by the Polish far-right National Social Congress (KNS) in Warsaw on 10 November, according to Agence France-Presse.

Poland Tells 'Infamous' U.S. Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer to Stay Out Get_img?NrArticle=27300&NrImage=2

Poland Tells 'Infamous' U.S. Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer to Stay Out Get_img?NrArticle=27300&NrImage=2

Polish soldiers at the Independence Day parade. Image: Wlodi via Flickr

In a statement posted on Twitter, the Polish Foreign Ministry said it was “opposed to any visits to Poland of people who propagate racist, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic ideas.”

The ministry added: "As a country that was one of the Nazis' greatest victims, we believe that the ideas propagated by Mr. Spencer and his followers may be a danger to all who hold dear human rights and democracy. They are also against Polish law and order.”

Spencer is co-editor of altright.com, a white nationalist website, and president of the far-right National Policy Institute, which calls for a white ethno-state in America. He drew worldwide attention earlier this year when the white nationalist rally that he organized in Charlottesville in August ended in tragedy after clashes with counter-protestors.

In a statement, Agnieszka Markiewicz, the Central Europe director for the American Jewish Committee, has “called upon the organizers to withdraw his name from the list of seminar participants, and request the Polish authorities to support this call” due to his views that are “antithetical to our cherished values of human rights and democracy.”

Despite the vocal objections, it is unclear whether Spencer’s visit will go ahead. A spokeswoman for the Polish Border Guard told The Associated Press that she could not comment on whether Spencer’s name was on a list of people who would be denied entry to Poland.

Spencer positions himself as a leader of the so called alt-right movement, a blanket term for neo-Nazis, white supremacists, extreme nationalists, and far-right fringe groups. The alt-right claims commonality with European far-right groups, such as those in Hungary, on the basis of a shared value system.

In October 2014 Richard Spencer co-organized a conference titled “The Future of Europe – Perspectives on Geopolitics, Identity, and Nationalism” in Budapest. Hungarian authorities cancelled the conference and Spencer was arrested and deported when he entered the country via a land border and held an informal meeting in a downtown Budapest pub, according to Foreign Policy.

Held on 11 November, Poland’s Independence Day holiday has a history of attracting extreme nationalist marchers and rioters in recent years. In 2015 tens of thousands of people took to the streets chanting anti-migrant and anti-EU slogans.

http://www.tol.org/client/article/27300-richard-spencer-alt-right-poland-independence-day-white-nationalism.html

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Poland Tells 'Infamous' U.S. Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer to Stay Out

Poland Tells 'Infamous' U.S. Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer to Stay Out

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