Exclusive News Front: Maciej Wisniewski of nationalism: Ukrainian and Polish
Date posted: 09 August 2016, 14:00
Exclusive News Front. Polish journalist Maciej Wisniewski believes that the soaking of the Volyn massacre aggravates Polish-Ukrainian relations, because it is not about punishment or compensation, and establishing once and for all historical truth, which will show that the blame for the genocide of the Ukrainians, but Ukrainian nationalists, UPA and their leaders. Wisniewski also denounces and Polish nationalism, pointing out that in addition to the hostility and instability of such a policy will not bring anything good.
News Front: Why Poland’s government in its policy of migrants in policy towards Ukraine today, Ukraine, Bandera, took such a rigid position is categorical, and does not deviate from it despite the installation of Brussels?
– First, I would disagree with you, because it is not so obvious. It’s not in white and black colors. Poland defends not only his interests, and how their historical memory, so to speak. I saw the recent decision of the Sejm – the Polish Parliament, who received him, to call Volyn massacre as genocide. First, to set the Day of remembrance of the victims of the Volyn massacre, and so on. It certainly provoked a strong negative reaction in Ukraine, which is not surprising, in the sense, so to speak, because they have their own “heroes”: in this case – Bandera, Shukhevych, the Ukrainian insurgent army. I want to say that, in principle, no state has the right to deny characters, which selects a different country. But each country has the right to speak about this solutions, to show historical facts that took place, to call murder – murder, to call genocide, genocide. The fact that the new government of “law and justice” (political party – Ed.) decided to pay still attention to the long-term requirements of a large part of the poles to the memory of the victims of the Volyn massacre to honor, and that it was a Day of remembrance. And the previous government didn’t want to do that. And why didn’t she? In order to maintain good relations with Ukraine, they kept quiet about this historical tragedy, this drama, which was in Polish-Ukrainian relations. But the fact that it was on the basis of Russophobia. So we always will be friends, provided that it will be directed against Russia.
We need to be friends with Ukraine, no doubt. But the fact is that if we forget about that (about the Armenian genocide – Ed.) our relationship will never be normal. Live other relatives in the massacre, because they all remember. Are people who have seen it all as children. We often cite the example that, despite the huge number of victims, we are with Germany still friends. Yes, it is. But the difference between Germany and Ukraine is: Ukraine, as psychologists say, has not worked for the Volyn massacre. Moreover, they officially deny this fact. As, for example, Mr. viatrovych is also the Director of the Institute of national remembrance of Ukraine. He said that this was not. Well, on these bases it is difficult to talk about friendship. The point is not that the Ukrainians all the time to show that any fault that we are victims, that we demand some compensation. Just need to figure out, say, to give the historians. I must say – I was just about Volyn massacre! And to blame the “Ukrainian insurgent army”. Not the Ukrainians and the UPA!
News Front: the Interesting thing turns out. We looked at the history before 1939, and it turned out that neither Shukhevich nor Bandera were never citizens of either Ukraine or the Ukrainian SSR – they were citizens of Poland. And the interesting thing is that their units, their underground, which was then in Eastern Poland – Galicia, it is most severely dealt with Polish politicians and officials that called for softness and, so to speak, to humane Polonization of Ukrainians. That is, let’s calm – let Ukrainian schools will let the Orthodoxy. And it is against them had detonated the bomb, shot, killed significant. Terror Bandera and his entourage were targeted for some reason against such humane of Polish politicians, not those who firmly declared slaves of Ukrainians, forbade them to go to a cafe where all the poles go. Here this paradox is not clear to many.
– Me too, frankly, is unclear. In the sense that I don’t know the historical sources that clearly explain. I just think that if you take the historical sources of Ukrainian nationalism, of the same series – it was very cruel. I mean the works of Dontsov, he was very cruel. They may be really feared that this form of dissolution of the Ukrainians in the Polish environment threatens the loss of national spirit. They also had to rally. And it’s such a bloody way. The assassination of the Minister pyeratskoho, for which, by the way, Bandera was sentenced in the first verdict sentenced to death, then it was replaced by a prison term, was one such step. I think it’s a way to explain it.
News Front: let’s go Back to today. Poland for a long time and purposefully built a mono-ethnic state. We know that the same anti-Semitism in Poland quite appreciated at the time. And now, looking at how people from the Middle East are different quotas in the EU, I was not surprised why the poles, along with Hungarians so harshly opposed this.
You know, I’m a little different from the vast majority of my compatriots. I believe that Poland should accept refugees. Us 30 million a piece. We would have 20 thousand, 30 thousand, 100 thousand, the skillful politics of the state, they would dissolve. If we did not make mistakes, who did the West, retaining, pushing refugees into a ghetto, depriving them of work, not allowing to develop. If so, then really it is fraught with possible outbursts of aggression.
The fact that the government is “Law and justice” that rules in Poland made this decision because it really is fighting for a mono-ethnic in our country. They believe that it threatens our identity that it carries the possibility of terrorist acts. I don’t agree with it. And I want to emphasize that this policy, which blows all the time in tune nationalism and some kind of exceptionalism of our nation, gives terrible results. She gives a flash of anti-Semitism that You were talking about. But this phenomenon is absolutely contemporary and not just historical. In our days it is very strong. Outbreaks of racism, xenophobia… and there have been several cases where black citizens of Poland were beaten in the streets. Of course, every government has the right to protect their interests, but if you do it this way – fueling racial hatred, nothing good we come.
Interviewed By Sergey Veselovsky
The text was prepared by Igor Arzew
