Salt of the Earth
Half-truth about Volhynia genocide
Jan Maria Jackowski
The Civic Platform has pushed through the law in the Senate and then in the Seym, in which the truth about genocide of Volhynia was relativized as well as responsibility for them among criminal Ukrainian organisations. It was absurdly motivated, that writing about the truth in the acts will destroy relationships with today's Ukraine and will make it impossible for this country to enter the European Union. Whereas Poland is an ambassador of Ukraine in the EU and our neighbouring countries know about it very well. So, expressing the truth will not be an obstacle on the way of Ukraine to the EU, and the truth can only strengthen our mutual relations, not weaken them. Moreover, statements of Radek Sikorski were also miserable, that the law including words about genocide will humiliate the Ukrainians. Poles expect that the Polish minister will express his solicitude about honour of our victims and take care of the memory about Polish victims.
Moreover, it was not allowed to establish 11 of July a Day of Memorial Martyrdom Day of Borderland inhabitants. Whereas 15 million of Poles in today's Poland has Borderland roots and dramatic events from the past are still an unhealed wound.
Basing an agreement on a falsehood is on a short run, because there is no reconciliation, without accepting even a painful truth. The failure of the policy of creating mutual relations not on the basis of the truth or reconciliation, but on the basis of a falsehood and hypocrisy is already visible. The President of Ukraine Wiktor Janukowicz ostentatiously did not participate in ceremonies organised in Łuck by Bronisław Komorowski. Whereas the ambassador of Ukraine did not even arrive in official ceremonies in Warsaw, organised earlier by the president of the Polish Republic. It shows a complete failure of cowardly policy of UE member countries, justified by political correctness.
Irresponsible actions of the governing Polish party have far-reaching consequences. Firstly, falsifying history and blurring responsibility mean support for fascistic Ukrainian chauvinists, especially the active ones in western Ukraine, where today monuments are put up to people who are morally and directly responsible for genocide on the Polish people, and who are made 'heroes of Ukraine'. The former 'Boykos' of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army receive combatant privileges, gratifications; they participate in loud celebrations, during which cadets with black and red symbols, are followed by secondary school and junior secondary school students from Lvov, Łuck, Stanisławow, Tarnopol. Songs of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army are widespread, published in the form of song books. The nationalistic ideology is very lively and some Ukrainian communities in Ukraine and in Poland, openly demand revision of borders and 'return' of 19 districts of today's Poland.
Secondly, the policy pursued by the Civic Platform leads to an opposite result than the declared one. Tolerating then attacks at nationalistic tones in Ukraine by the present government discourages the West to Ukraine and gives Moscow arguments justifies a hard line towards Kiev with the defence of the Russian minority endangered in its basic rights by the Ukrainian fascist chauvinism. Therefore the Polish authorities should take a special care about historic truth and memory of tens thousands of victims of genocide, not escape from the problem.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 30/2013