Warsaw, Oct 14 (AP) Poland's president has signed intolaw a divisive bill on funding for non-governmentalorganisations that critics say the conservative government mayuse to undercut groups it does not approve of.
International human rights organisations and a federationof Poland's NGOs had appealed to President Andrzej Duda toveto the bill, which they saw as harmful to the development ofPoland's civil society.
The bill establishes at the prime minister's office a newNational Freedom Institute that will distribute funds amongthe 100,000 NGOs in Poland, focusing on small regionalprojects and consumer protection.
Critics say women's rights groups and LGBT organisations,unpopular with the predominantly Catholic government, will beoverlooked.
Duda's office said he signed the bill yesterday. (AP)NSA.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.