Poland's opposition Peasants' Party on Sunday officially kicked off a national drive to collect signatures for a petition demanding the immediate withdrawal of Polish troops from Iraq.
"We hope that millions of Poles will back the call for the withdrawal of Polish troops from Iraq," said party leader Janusz Wojciechowski.
But most political parties have criticised the initiative, accusing Wojciechowski's party of "populism" and saying it was launched for election purposes.
Poland, a US ally, heads a multinational force of 6,500 administering a swathe of Iraq south of Baghdad. Fourteen Poles have been killed in Iraq since the start of the US-led war in March last year - 10 soldiers and four civilians.
"It is a war which is causing more and more innocent people's blood to flow, where more and more Poles are dying, a war which makes the prospect of a stabile world and a solution for Iraq more distant," Wojciechowski said.
Poland hopes to reduce the number of troops it has in the country from 2,500 to 1,500 in early 2005.
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