European Parliament
Józef Pinior (PSE ). –
(PL)
Mr President, European history places a particular responsibility on the shoulders of politicians, the churches and civil society in terms of protecting tolerance and human rights. This responsibility weighs especially heavily on the shoulders of the governments of European Union Member States, which should guard the rights enshrined in the European Treaty.
Unfortunately some, I repeat, some actions of the current government in Warsaw, especially those related to the League of Polish Families, are spreading intolerance and homophobia. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Roman Giertych, sacked the director of the National In-Service Teacher Training Centre because of its publication of an official Council of Europe guide entitled
Compass: A manual on human rights education with young people
. The Deputy Prime Minister alleged that the book, and I quote from the press, ‘encourages schools to hold meetings with gay organisations’. Roman Giertych is considering the need to shut down this institution, which has been in existence since 1991 and which is an important institution in Poland responsible for drafting and implementing educational programmes based on humanist values.
Fortunately, these actions by the government have roused another part of Polish society. One hundred and forty thousand people have signed an Internet petition calling for the dismissal of the Minister for Education. Teachers and pupils are protesting, and a new civil society is on the rise.

