Tens of thousands protest the Polish government

Half a million protesters have emerged in downtown Warsaw on Sunday, opposition organisers in Poland have said, claiming that the largest anti-government demonstration has been recorded in 30 years after the end of communism.

Lech Walesa, former Polish president, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and leader of the fight against communism, has joined opposition figures at the top of the march.

The protest is organised before legislative elections, held in Poland in autumn of this year.

People have travelled from all over the state, as former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, leader of the centre's opposition party, Civil Platform (PO), has called for protests, “against high living prices, against lies, for democracy, for free elections, and for the European Union”.

Leaders of most opposition parties have called on supporters to join the march against the ruling party, Law and Justice, which leads Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

The number of protesters is now 500,000, “, protest organisers' spokesman Jan Grabiec has said.

Protesters have been seen holding inscriptions “is enough”, “Not authoritarian Poland”, and they have blamed the ruling party for rising prices.

Once leader of the European Council, Tusk has told protesters that the opposition's role is “of equal importance” with that of the 1980s.

Walesa, who has long not been active in politics, told protesters that she is waiting for the day when the nationalist party and Kaczynski will leave power.

Mr. Kaczynski, we're here for you. That day has come” Wales said.

The June 4th protest is held on the day when the 34th anniversary of holding partially free elections in Poland was marked, following the fall of communism in Europe.

Wales has become the nation's first democratic elected president in 1990. / REL