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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of government critics held a peaceful protest of the monthly observances Poland's ruling party holds in memory of President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others killed in a 2010 plane crash.
The critics say the observances are being used for political purposes by Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw, who is the ruling Law and Justice party's leader. They say that Kaczynski uses his mourning to rally supporters for his policies that threaten democracy.
The protest Monday in Warsaw was led by a leading pro-democracy activist from the communist era, Wladyslaw Frasyniuk. It had the support of former president and democracy champion Lech Walesa, who was in the hospital with heart problems.
Frasyniuk and Walesa appealed for people to join the protest, but it did not draw huge crowds.
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