Falanga (organisation)

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Not to be confused with Falange Española de las JONS or National Radical Camp.
Falanga
LeaderBartosz Bekier
FounderBartosz Bekier
FoundedJanuary 2009
Split fromNational Radical Camp
IdeologyNational Radicalism [pl]
Polish nationalism
National-revolutionary
Eurasianism
Militarism
Russophilia
Hard Euroscepticism
Anti-LGBT rhetoric
Anti-Americanism
Anti-Zionism
Antisemitism
Political positionFar-right
Continental affiliationEurasia Movement
ColorsBlack, red and white
SloganPolska! Młodość! Rewolucja!
(eng. 'Poland! Youth! Revolution!')
Website
www.xportal.press

Falanga is a Polish national radical organization founded in January 2009.[1] It is currently led by the former coordinator of the Masovian Brigade of the National Radical Camp (ONR), Bartosz Bekier [fr].[1][2][3][4]

History[edit]

Pre-2019 flag of the Falanga

In 2009, the Falanga organization was founded based on the Masovian Brigade of the National-Radical Camp structures by Bartosz Bekier. Fascinated by political activity, Bekier joined the ONR as a teenager in 2005. Inspired by Italian and Spanish fascism, he took over the position as head of the Masovian Brigade of the ONR. Bekier left the ONR officially in 2009 after his failed attempt to take over the entire ONR and after quarrelling with Przemysław Holocher, former leader of the ONR. At the peak of its development, Falanga had branches in Kraków, Zielona Góra, Bydgoszcz, Olsztyn, Gdańsk, Poznań and Warsaw. Their ideas are primarily the fight against liberalism and globalization. They support Eurasianism. It is a geopolitical vision whose core is the alliance of Russia and Western Europe against the United States.[2][3][5]

Apart from Bekier, other notable (current or former) members of Falanga include Michał Prokopowicz, Ronald Lasecki, and dr. Adam Danek.[3]

Mission to Syria[edit]

Bartosz Bekier with the pre-2019 flag of Falanga in southern Lebanon[6]
Joint assembly of Falanga and Hezbollah

In June 2013, Falanga launched a mission in war-torn civil Syria, engaging with the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Its representatives met, among other things, with Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi, Grand Mufti of Syria, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christian clergy, government troops, Hezbollah[7] fighters and representatives of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.[6][8]

Mission to Novorossiya[edit]

In 2014, during a mission in eastern Ukraine, Falanga officially supported the separatist Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in Donbas.[9] The leader of the Falanga also met with the Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin.[1][10] Bartosz Bekier gave an interview with the Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic for Xportal.[11] In October 2014, the Ukrainian Border Guard detained several Falanga members. Members were banned from entering Ukraine for three years.[12]

Leader of Falanga Bartosz Bekier and Prime Minister of Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin[11]

"Zmiana" – a political party[edit]

In February 2015, Falanga officially joined the structures of the then-newly formed pro-Russian Zmiana party,[13] which was founded by a former MP and spokesman for Samoobrona RP, Dr. Mateusz Piskorski.[13][14] Bartosz Bekier became the deputy head of the Zmiana,[15] and the Krakow member of the Falanga organization, Michał Prokopowicz, became its security expert as well as regional coordinator for Lesser Poland.[15][16] On May 2, 2016, Bartosz Bekier published a statement about his departure from the Zmiana party.[17] On May 18, 2016, (only 16 days later), leader Mateusz Piskorski was arrested by the Internal Security Agency, and later charged with espionage for Russian and Chinese intelligence.[18]

Alliance with Národní demokracie[edit]

Falanga and Czech National Democracy in Prague

On July 4, 2015, Falanga officially established cooperation with the Czech National Democracy, whose representatives took part in a joint conference on the issues of Central Europe and then in an anti-American protest at the US consulate in Krakow.[19]

On August 15, 2015, a delegation of Falanga and Xportal.pl participated in anti-liberal and anti-immigrant demonstrations organized by the allied Czech National Democracy party in Prague.[20]

Anti-American protest at the US consulate in Kraków
Czech National Democracy with Falanga

Participation in NATO exercises "Anakonda-16"[edit]

In June 2016, Michał Prokopowicz and the members of the Krakow Rifle Unit Association 2039, who were associated with him and with the Falanga organization, took part in the multinational NATO exercises "Anakonda-16".[21][22][23][24] The Ministry of National Defense denied inviting Falanga members to these military manoeuvres.[24][25] Officially, however, their participation was notified by the Krakow Rifle Unit Association 2039 members, and the information about the participation of the "Rifleman" groups appeared on the Ministry of National Defense website devoted to NATO exercises. In September 2016, a former officer of the Foreign Intelligence Agency, Michał Rybak, described this state of affairs as a system error.[26]

The incident in Uzhhorod[edit]

On February 4, 2018, an attempt was made to set fire to the centre of the Hungarian minority in Uzhhorod, Ukraine.[27][28] At the end of February 2018, the Security Service of Ukraine stated that several Falanga members who had acted on the orders of the Russian special services were responsible for the event. Between February 21 of 2018, they were arrested by the Internal Security Agency.[28][29][30] On February 24, 2018, Bartosz Bekier officially denied that the Falanga organization was responsible for the incident.[31]

In January 2019, several former members of the Falanga organization faced charges of committing a terrorist act in a Kraków court.[32][33] According to the prosecutor's office, the operation was aimed at disrupting the system of Ukraine and deepening the ethnic divisions between Ukrainians and Hungarians.[34]

On March 23, 2020, a non-final judgment was passed in this case. In it, the district court of Kraków upheld the position of the prosecutor's office that the crime was terrorist in nature, and it found all the accused guilty of the actions with which they had been charged. The judgment also sentenced the organizer of the arson, Michał Prokopowicz, to a penalty of 3 years imprisonment, and it sentenced contractors to 1- and 2-year terms respectively. Neither party appealed, and the judgment became final.[35][36][37][38]

During the proceedings, Michał Prokopowicz testified in court that the organization of the terrorist attack was commissioned and financed by the German journalist Manuel Ochsenreiter, whose plenipotentiary denied this version of the events.[39] After the accusation was revealed, Manuel Ochsenreiter lost his position as an associate of Markus Frohnmaier, an AfD member of the Bundestag. Polish and German law enforcement agencies unsuccessfully sought him for the next few years. There were reports that he had been in Russia and Morocco. In August 2021, Russian authorities and media announced that Manuel Ochsenreiter died of a heart attack in Moscow.[40][41]

Second international forum of the development of parliamentarism[edit]

In July of 2019, Bekier traveled to Russia to attend the "Second International Forum of the Development of Parliamentarism." In his appeal to Vladimir Putin and the Russian political class in the Duma, Bekier demanded the following:

  • that Poland leave NATO and the EU
  • the conclusion of a Polish-Russian alliance
  • the partition of Ukraine and the annexation of Lviv to Poland

In addition, he postulated the forced federalization of Lithuania and territorial autonomy for the Vilnius region.

Civil conflict in Poland[edit]

In October 2020, during the mass protests that had been going on for over a week against the tightening of abortion regulations in Poland, an interview with Bartosz Bekier was published on the home page of Onet.pl. The leader of the Falanga said that about 10,000 nationalists are expected to appear in Warsaw in the first week of November and ⅓ to half of them are trained in combat tactics.[42][43][44]

On the evening of October 30, 2020, a multi-thousand demonstration occurred,[45] in which the Police arrested 37 people, 35 of whom attacked demonstration participants.[46][47][48]

Allies[edit]

The Falanga has tightened cooperation with:

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Mareš, Miroslav; Laryš, Martin; Holzer, Jan (October 25, 2018). Militant Right-Wing Extremism in Putin's Russia: Legacies, Forms and Threats. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-95362-0.
  2. ^ a b "Nie tylko ONR". Przegląd (in Polish). December 4, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Lider faszyzującej Falangi domaga się w Moskwie przyłączenia do Polski Lwowa". oko.press. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Cieśla, Wojciech (October 4, 2017). "A story of the snake that ate its own tail". VSquare.org. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Polscy faszyści na smyczy Putina". KrytykaPolityczna.pl (in Polish). April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Xportal.pl and Falanga on Mission to Syria! [ENG]". Xportal.pl (in Polish). June 17, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Narodowcy z Falangi pojechali do Syrii. Spotkali się z premierem oraz przesłuchiwali więźniów". naTemat.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "Falanga". September 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Wenerski, Łukasz (June 2017). "The Visegrad Countries and "Post-Truth" – Who is Responsible for Delivering the Kremlin's Narrative to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland?" (PDF).
  10. ^ a b c Woźnicki, Łukasz (June 5, 2014). "Narodowcy z Polski pojechali na Ukrainę wspierać separatystów. "Polscy Euroazjaci dotarli do Doniecka!"". Wyborcza.pl.
  11. ^ a b c "Dla Xportalu: Denis Puszylin, przywódca Donieckiej Republiki Ludowej [PL/ENG/RUS/IT/CZ]". Xportal.pl (in Polish). May 30, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Ukraińska straż graniczna zatrzymała polskich narodowców. Trzyletni zakaz wjazdu na Ukrainę". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "Powstała prokremlowska partia Zmiana. Dowodzi nią były poseł Samoobrony". wiadomosci.dziennik.pl (in Polish). February 22, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Zmiana – nowa partia byłego rzecznika Samoobrony". wydarzenia.interia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c "Walcząc kulturą: Rosyjska siatka wpływów w Polsce". Liberté! (in Polish). March 27, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  16. ^ Redakcja (April 10, 2015). "Strzelcy z putinowskimi poglądami". Dziennik Polski (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Złożyłem rezygnację z członkostwa w partii Zmiana". Facebook. May 2, 2016. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Kulisy zatrzymania Mateusza Piskorskiego z prorosyjskiej partii Zmiana. W Polsce miał się odbyć szczyt anty-NATO". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  19. ^ a b "4.VII A.D. 2015, Kraków: Przeciwko USA, za Europą Środkową". Xportal.pl. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "15.VIII A.D. 2015 Praga: Delegacja Falangi na antyimigranckiej demonstracji". Archived from the original on January 9, 2016.
  21. ^ "Falanga i Zmiana idą do wojska. Jedna faszystowska, druga prokremlowska". oko.press. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  22. ^ "Prorosyjska Falanga w elektrowni podczas manewrów NATO Anakonda-16". Portal Międzymorza JAGIELLONIA.ORG (in Polish). September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  23. ^ OKO.press, Konrad Szczygieł (September 20, 2016). "Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej niewolne od radykałów". www.polityka.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Prorosyjska organizacja na ćwiczeniach Wojska Polskiego? MON zaprzecza". defence24.pl (in Polish). September 22, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  25. ^ "Wyjaśnienie MON – Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej – Portal Gov.pl". Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  26. ^ Górzyński, Oskar (September 20, 2016). "Falanga na ćwiczeniach wojska? Ekspert: to "błąd systemu"". wiadomosci.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  27. ^ polukr (February 21, 2018). "SBU: Polacy z "Falangi" winni ataku na biuro mniejszości węgierskiej na Zakarpaciu". Portal polsko-ukraiński (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Prowokacja na Zakarpaciu z udziałem Polaków. Nowy etap wojny informacyjnej? [KOMENTARZ]". cyberdefence24.pl (in Polish). February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  29. ^ "Za podpalenie na Ukrainie ABW zatrzymała działaczy organizacji proobronnej współpracującej z MON, a równocześnie – neofaszystowskiej Falangi". oko.press. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  30. ^ "Ukraiński urzędnik: Polacy, członkowie organizacji Falanga, próbowali podpalić węgierski ośrodek". www.gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  31. ^ Trojan, Marek (February 24, 2018). "Ludzie z Falangi odpowiedzialni za atak na biuro węgierskiej mniejszości na Ukrainie? Bekier: to byłaby samowolka » Kresy". Kresy.pl.
  32. ^ "Rusza proces Polaków oskarżonych o atak na Ukrainie". www.tvp.info (in Polish). January 13, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  33. ^ "Wyborcza.pl". krakow.wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  34. ^ "Śledztwo ABW zakończone wyrokiem ws. podpalenia węgierskiego ośrodka na Ukrainie – Służby specjalne – Portal Gov.pl". Służby specjalne (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  35. ^ S.A, Telewizja Polska. "Sąd skazał trzy osoby za przestępstwa o charakterze terrorystycznym". krakow.tvp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  36. ^ Drożdżak, Artur (March 23, 2020). "Krakowski sąd skazał trzech Polaków za "akt terrorystyczny" na Ukrainie". Gazeta Krakowska (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  37. ^ "Wyrok ws. próby podpalenia ośrodka Węgrów w Użhorodzie". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). March 23, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  38. ^ "Byli członkowie skrajnie prawicowych organizacji skazani za terrorystyczny atak na Ukrainie". krakow.wyborcza.pl. March 23, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  39. ^ "Prokuratura sprawdza, czy Niemiec zlecił Polakom zamach na Ukrainie". Do Rzeczy (in Polish). January 19, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  40. ^ Polska, Grupa Wirtualna (August 19, 2021). "Dziennikarz z Niemiec zmarł w Moskwie. Miał na koncie wiele skandali". o2.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  41. ^ "Flüchtiger AfD-Netzwerker soll in Moskau gestorben sein". www.t-online.de (in German). August 20, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  42. ^ "Szef Falangi: 10 tys. narodowców w Warszawie. Nawet połowa z nich przeszkolona z taktyki walki". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). October 30, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  43. ^ "Lider Falangi w Onecie podsyca społeczne nastroje. Działania zgodne z interesami Kremla?". www.tvp.info (in Polish). October 31, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  44. ^ "Narodowcy szykują się na weekend. "Mobilizujemy ludzi. Niewykluczone, że dojdzie do walk na większą skalę"". Wprost (in Polish). October 30, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  45. ^ "Skończył się jeden z największych protestów w najnowszej historii Warszawy". TVN Warszawa (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  46. ^ "37 osób zatrzymanych po protestach w Warszawie. Wiemy, kim są zatrzymani". www.rmf24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  47. ^ "37 osób zatrzymanych po Marszu na Warszawę. Mieli przy sobie pałki, gaz i wyroby pirotechniczne". warszawa.wyborcza.pl. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  48. ^ "Policja zatrzymała 37 osób podczas strajku kobiet. Większość z nich to pseudokibice". www.gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). October 31, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  49. ^ Falanga i "Inna Rosja" domagały się w Warszawie rozbioru Ukrainy

External links[edit]

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