An unknown gay rights group claimed it planted a dozen fake bombs around Warsaw that paralysed the Polish capital on Thursday, three days before the second round of a presidential election.
”You paralyse our life, we’ll paralyse yours,” a lengthy e-mail sent to media groups in Warsaw said, referring among other issues to a ban on a gay pride parade by Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski, who is running on the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party’s ticket in Sunday’s vote against Donald Tusk of the liberal Civic Platform (PO).
”Electing Kaczynski would mean the destruction of Poland, a divided Poland, shaken by Kaczynski-wars which aim to win total power,” said the five-page typed letter, which was signed by the hitherto unheard of Gay Power Brigade.
”I think this claim is also a fake,” Kaczynski told a press conference, expressing doubt that homosexual rights groups were behind the hoax.
”I know that gay groups are very well organised but not for this type of operation,” he said, adding that the city of Warsaw would pay a reward of 100 000 zlotys (€25 000) for information leading to the arrest of those who placed the fake bombs.
Parts of the Polish capital ground to a halt during Thursday’s morning rush hour as police investigated a telephone warning that a dozen bombs had been placed at strategic spots around the city.
Interior Minister Ryszard Kalisz said later on Thursday that 13 bombs had been found.
”Alerted by inhabitants, the police found a total of 13 fake bombs that had been placed at key sites around the capital,” Kalisz told reporters after a morning of traffic chaos caused by the bomb scare.
”The ‘bombs’ were very professionally done, and it was only after thorough checks that officials were able to say we were dealing with fakes,” said Kalisz, confirming earlier reports from the police department that no explosives had been found in the suspect packages.
According to Kalisz, suspect parcels were also found on Wednesday, at the mainline train stations in Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot, on the Baltic coast. One person was detained in connection with those incidents, but Kalisz refused to say whether they were linked to the hoax in Warsaw.
Two suspects were detained on Thursday in Warsaw but were not positively identified by witnesses who said they saw the parcels being laid around the capital, including at strategic points such as the Charles de Gaulle and United Nations roundabouts, which lie on a main avenue that cuts through the city.
It was unclear if any of the suspects were still in custody. Kalisz called on Poles to be vigilant and contact the police if they spotted any more suspect parcels. – AFP
