NEGLECTING POLAND

MIROSŁAW PIOTROWSKI

The chief of FBI did not apologize Poland for his public calling Poles as ‘accomplices’ helping the Germans during the war in murdering Jews on a large scale. He only expressed his ‘grief’ that he had mentioned our country, which was to distract everyone from the essence of his whole speech. He did not say ‘sorry’, although nearly all notables were of our country were outraged. But didn’t they wake up too late? Or, maybe some people are doing everything to show off, just before the forthcoming elections? Poland has been neglected in the international arena for years and not only in the sphere of the so-called historical politics. Its most significant example, is the lack of return of the Polish presidential Tu-154M airplane wreckage by Russia. In this context a known politician of the governing Civil Platform admitted it on TV: ‘Poland is helpless’. The candidate for the presidential post of this political party as well as the president of Poland Bronisław Komorowski still holding his presidential post, informed: ‘The Russians are not returning the wreckage. We will not send an army to fight for it, won’t we?’. To make things worse, despite maintaining obvious appearances, the situation with our EU partners is not good. For many years the Germans have been opposing to considering Poles as the national minority, although this status was granted to, among the others, the Danish and Frisian minorities. Poland did not want to acknowledge the German minority, but gave t extra privileges. For example, it can present its own electoral lists in elections for the Seym, without necessity of exceeding the 5-per cent electoral threshold, compulsory for Poles. This state of inequality in neighbouring relationships is called asymmetry. However, it can be called in a more bluntly. But what can one write about frequent neglecting by such big countries as the USA (which still require visa), Russia or Germany, if it is years since the Polish diplomacy has not been able to cope with stubborn clearly anti-Polish policy of governments of small Lithuania. Poles living there are discriminated and they are not allowed to write surnames in their Polish, that is, original spelling. Recently, there is the most shocking action of liquidating a few dozen Polish schools in Lithuania. This is not only a scandal but another ‘fillip on the nose’ for Poland. And it is hard to imagine what would happen in Europe, if the German minority would be treated like that. Well, it is us who won the war whose 70th anniversary of ending we are celebrating. We are probably the ones who are respected and appreciated in Europe. And, by the way, is it ennoblement for Poland when the Polish prime minister holding his post in the country is taken away for much higher monthly salary?

AA

„Niedziela” 19/2015

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl