Video: Protesters Light Rainbow Structure on Fire in Poland

Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.

Extreme right wing protesters in Poland set a promenade rainbow structure on fire on Nov. 11 during an Independence Day March, which later erupted in violence lasting for about two hours, according to Al Jazeera.

The protesters, who are members of the radical-right groups All-Polish Youth and the National-Radical Camp, brandished Celtic crosses and held up white power fists before burning down the rainbow structure in Savior Square, located in central Warsaw, Poland's capital and largest city.

Although the rainbow structure initially didn't have a connection to the country's LGBT community, Al Jazeera reports its creator, Julita Wojcik, intended the piece to stand for diversity and the LGBT community eventually identified with it.

This isn't the first time protesters attempted to burn the structure. According to the New York Times demonstrators tried to light the rainbow on fire on four separate occasions in March.

"What was intended as a work of public art without an overt political message beyond the need for inclusiveness, according to the artist behind it, has instead become part of a culture war over homosexuality that has been brewing in one of Europe's most Catholic countries...," the NYT writes.

"In 2011, Poland was seen as a homophobic country. I wanted to show that we're not closed, but open-minded," Wojcik told the Times.

Watch the video below (WARNING: May not be suitable for some viewers):


by Jason St. Amand , National News Editor

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