Polish PM says anti-government protests are the work of politicians who lost their privileges

WARSAW, Poland – Poland's prime minister says anti-government protests over the past two weekends are the work of opposition members angry about being ousted from power.

Thousands of people have demonstrated across Poland for the past two Saturdays to protest moves by Prime Minister Beata Szydlo's new right-wing government to reduce the ability of the Constitutional Tribunal to be a check on the government's power. Protesters are calling that a threat to Poland's democracy.

In an interview Sunday with TVN24, Szydlo dismissed those accusations, saying protests are being led by politicians "who lost power and privileges" in the last election.

The organizer of the rallies, the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, insists it is a citizens' initiative that does not work for any political party.