HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO BE A POLE
Lidia Dudkiewicz, The Editor-in-Chief of ‘Niedziela’
White-red marches from 11 November 2017 joined the long-lasting trend of Polishness included in the words: God – Honour – Homeland. These patriotic manifestations in the capital of Poland are described in the current issue by a columnist of the ‘Sunday’ informing that ‘emotions appeared even in those with tough character, when through rows of white-red flags, banners, one could hear the loud cry: ‘We want God’ and the words of this song were sung by a crowd of many thousand people. The breathtaking sight and atmosphere, one would shout towards the whole world, particularly towards Europe: how wonderful it is to be a Pole!’. A lot of young people, a lot of families with little children were participating in the March of Independence. A different image of the same white-red march was presented by politicians of the Polish opposition and foreign media following their denunciations, as well as European clerks who allowed for severe attacks on the Warsaw March of Independence. What is very worrying is the statement of a Belgian euro-deputy Guy Verhofstadt, a chief of the fraction Agreement of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. During the last debate in the European he used attacking words against Poles. He stated that ‘the Polish government has lost its common sense’. He went on shouting: ‘We had 60 thousand fascists, neo-Nazis, white supermatists in the streets of Warsaw. More or less 300 km from the death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. It should have never happened in Europe, it should have never happened in Poland’.
Media attacks on Poland in passing false information were led by the American journal ‘Wall Street Journal’ in which it was written that on a bridge in Warsaw during a march, a banner was placed with the writing: ‘Let’s pray for the Islamic holocaust’. This is fake news which has quickly appeared in media and social portals all over the world. It is not known how the idea of a journalist of the American newspaper on the text of the banner appeared, as there was no point in hanging up a caption on the bridge on the route of the march, as the only bridge through which this year’s March of Independence has walked, was the Poniatowski bridge, and due to logistic reasons hanging up such a banner was pointless (it would be visible only from the side of the river). Moreover, the lack of any documentation of such an incident – informs Wojciech Mucha, a journalist of ‘Daily Polish Newspaper’. It was after his article, showing a pack of lies in the ‘Wall Street Journal’, the American journalist had to correct the false information.
A steadfast defender of the Polish issues is the prime minister Beata Szydło. In relation to he resolution of the European Parliament concerning objections to the rule of law in Poland and the issue of the March of Independence discussed during the last debate in Strasburg she wrote on Twitter: ‘Politicians defaming their country on the international forum do not deserve representing it’. And during a press conference in Goteborg she stipulated that her nation could not be insulted by anybody. ‘These 60 thousand people who went out in Warsaw for the beautiful white-red manifestation, cannot be called fascists by anybody. I will never agree to slandering citizens of my country which was the victim of two totalitarianisms. There is no agreement to it’ – Beata Szydło said consistently. We thank the Prime Minister!
AA
Niedziela 48/2017