To Attend Or Not To Attend - 2
David McDuff
Polish Prime Minister: President Should Attend WWII Anniversary in
Moscow Warsaw Gazeta Wyborcza (Internet Version-WWW) in Polish 23 Feb
05. Translation by BBC Monitoring
http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/wyborcza/1,34474,2566022.html
Marek Belka 23-02-2005, last update 22-02-2005 18:59
Yalta -- Moscow -- Warsaw
We should never forget the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, the Katyn crime,
or the trial of the 16 [a show trial of 16 leaders from the Polish
anti-Communist military and political underground invited for talks
with Russians in Warsaw and arrested by the NKVD]. This is part of our
national awareness and nothing will change this fact -- Prime Minister
Marek Belka writes about why the Polish president should participate
in the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII.
We are all asking ourselves the question of whether the president
of the Polish Republic, Aleksander Kwasniewski, should or should not
participate in the ceremonies in Moscow marking the 60th anniversary
of victory over the Nazi Third Reich. I respond: three times yes! Yes
-- out of consideration for the past, the present, and the future!
Respect for the Truth and Poland's Role
Why out of consideration for the past? Because elementary respect
for historical truth demands that the highest-ranking representatives
of independent Poland should not be missing from among the leaders of
the democratic community of states. It was a historical injustice that
60 years ago representatives of the Polish state were not invited to
take part in the victory parades organized in 1945 in London and
Moscow. This was a time when Poland's fate was determined by others.
Today, finally, we are the masters of our country and we should
ourselves right the wrongs done to us 60 years ago. From the first to
the last day of WWII, we were participants in armed struggles. Today
we have a moral obligation and we want, before all of Europe, to honor
the memory of all those Poles who perished in the fight against Nazism
on all the fronts of that war. They lost their own lives in order to
spare the those of others.
Secondly, we should be present there out of consideration for the
challenge of the present time. By being present in Moscow, we can
demonstrate the new place and role we play in the region and on a
global scale -- within NATO and in the realization of a common EU
foreign and security policy.
Thirdly and lastly, we can and want to bear testimony, through the
Polish head of state's presence in Moscow, that the division of Europe
into spheres of influence that was symbolized by Yalta has ended once
and for all. We are today building a new Europe based on common
values. This is how we see the future.
We are today a free and sovereign nation -- a nation that has a
friendly and well-disposed attitude towards all of its neighbors,
towards other nations of Europe and the whole world. The objective of
seeing a strong, free, independent and democratic Poland revive from
the embers of war did not come true in 1945, but rather nearly 45
years later, in 1989. We regained our sovereignty not through the
generosity of the victorious powers, but through the will of the
nation, whose multi-million-strong social movement "Solidarity"
initiated peaceful transformations throughout the region.
Why Yalta Has Bad Associations for Us
The Yalta conference was an important link in the historical
process. Its augured the impending downfall of the "thousand-year
Third Reich," which lasted only 12 years. This conference was supposed
to draft the outlines of a safe world after liberation. A better world
was supposed to emerge from the ruins of the "new order" that had been
established by Nazi Germany. What did emerge was a bipolar world,
divided by an Iron Curtain. For close to half a century, it separated
free and democratic states from states that were captive and
subjugated to Stalinist totalitarianism. Poland ended up in this
latter part, deprived of full sovereignty. And no one should be
surprised that Yalta has bad associations for us.
Years ago, two serious publications found their way into my hands
in Moscow. The title of the first was: "USSR-Poland -- Mechanisms of
Subjugation 1994-1949." The second two-volume collection was published
under the modest and innocent title "Eastern Europe in the Documents
of Russian Archives 1944-1953." The introduction to this collection
published under the auspices of the Russian Academy of Sciences states
that immediately after the Yalta conference Stalin was viewed by the
Communist leaders of Eastern Europe as the highest instance. An
arbiter in internal disputes and confrontations. All democratic and
independence-minded movements were quashed by force, brutally and
ruthlessly. "Nevertheless, no country in the region saw such massive
and long-term use of military force," the Russian scholars write,
"even though the 'flexing of muscles' was frequently demonstrated in
periods of tension." I repeat, this is what professional Russian
historians wrote.
In the minds of Poles, Yalta entails a whole range of associations
with other facts: the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, the shameful
accusations against General Sikorski of conspiring with Hitler when
the Polish Government appealed to the international Red Cross to study
the circumstances behind the Katyn crime, and the scornful assertion
of Molotov in October 1939 describing Poland, the victim of double
aggression and betrayal, as the "grotesque bastard of the Treaty of
Versailles." It is also associated with the arrest by the Russians of
the National Council of Ministers of the Polish Government in March
1945 and the trail of the 16. The memory of these facts is part of our
awareness. And we should never forget them.
Poland is Waiting for a Message From Moscow
And so, for Poland, as well as for the Baltic states, the Czech
Republic and other states of Eastern Europe, the concept of "Yalta"
symbolizes the division of Europe and captivity, not a peaceful
international order.
Things looked differently from the perspective of the USSR
authorities, Stalin and his successors. Today, too, "Yalta" still
represents for many Russians the apogee of their state's imperial
power. Never before or afterwards has Russia achieved such influence,
such capacity to affect the world political scene.
Just several months later, in the summer of 1945, Stalin's
ambitions and influence over the fate of the world were mitigated by
the U.S.-British presence in occupied Germany. More importantly, the
Potsdam conference took place in the shadow of the first tests of the
US atomic bomb in the state of Nevada. Today all of these facts belong
to history. I am writing about them in consideration of our future --
our common future. I want to believe that the May summit in Moscow
could forecast an improvement in the weather on the barometer of world
politics. We cannot be missing in the process of this improvement.
No one in Poland wants to question or belittle Russia's
contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany. A Polish presence at
the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of victory over the Third
Reich above all constitutes homage for the fighters, including
hundreds of thousands of Russians and representatives of other nations
of the former Soviet Union who perished on Polish lands. We clearly
distinguish honoring them from explicit condemnation of the policy of
Stalin, who made the sacrifice of Russian blood into an argument in
favor of the captivation of the nations of Central Europe.
The eyes of the world will be watching Moscow on 9 May. We will be
carefully listening to the message that comes from there. This is a
great responsibility for the hosts. We should expect this message to
take account of the historical truth, in all of its complexity. In
order to reflect this truth, it will suffice to say a few words; they
will not by any means dampen either the greatness of the anniversary
or the lofty celebratory atmosphere. The Polish presence should be an
expression of the expectation for these words as well.
The message from Moscow will for many states and societies, not
only in Central Europe, be a gauge of the credibility of modern
political decorations. A lasting, honest, strategic partnership
between Europe and Russia, which we are all endeavoring for today, can
only be built upon the foundation of common values, and these in turn
require elementary respect for historical truth.
«Pas de deux»
> Moscow Warsaw Gazeta Wyborcza (Internet Version-WWW) in Polish 23 Feb
> 05. Translation by BBC Monitoring
>
> http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/wyborcza/1,34474,2566022.html
>
> Marek Belka 23-02-2005, last update 22-02-2005 18:59
The article (in full below) contains some wheat and some chaff.
An example of the chaff is:
> It was a historical injustice that 60 years ago representatives of the
> Polish
> state were not invited to take part in the victory parades organized
> in 1945
> in London and Moscow.
Also:
> Secondly, we should be present there out of consideration for the
> challenge of the present time. By being present in Moscow, we can
> demonstrate the new place and role we play in the region and on a
> global scale -- within NATO and in the realization of a common EU
> foreign and security policy.
Delusions of grandeur peeping through the toil-worn vestments here...
Some good points:
> In the minds of Poles, Yalta entails a whole range of associations
> with other facts: the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, the shameful
> accusations against General Sikorski of conspiring with Hitler when
> the Polish Government appealed to the international Red Cross to study
> the circumstances behind the Katyn crime, and the scornful assertion
> of Molotov in October 1939 describing Poland, the victim of double
> aggression and betrayal, as the "grotesque bastard of the Treaty of
> Versailles." It is also associated with the arrest by the Russians of
> the National Council of Ministers of the Polish Government in March
> 1945 and the trail of the 16. The memory of these facts is part of our
> awareness. And we should never forget them.
[...]
> The eyes of the world will be watching Moscow on 9 May. We will be
> carefully listening to the message that comes from there. This is a
> great responsibility for the hosts. We should expect this message to
> take account of the historical truth, in all of its complexity.
[...]
> The message from Moscow will for many states and societies, not
> only in Central Europe, be a gauge of the credibility of modern
> political decorations. A lasting, honest, strategic partnership
> between Europe and Russia, which we are all endeavoring for today, can
> only be built upon the foundation of common values, and these in turn
> require elementary respect for historical truth.
GK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
«Pas de deux»
Riga, March 1 (LETA-ELTA) - Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga says
that she sees no essential difference between the régimes of Hitler and
Stalin.
In an interview on Russian radio Eho Moskvi Monday, the president
pointed out that both Hitler's Nazi régime and Stalin's Soviet régime,
were obtrusive totalitarian systems where power was concentrated "in the
hands of one person."
The life of a human being was of no value to both régimes, and it was
subjected to the purposes of the leader, Vike-Freiberga explained,
pointing out that millions of people were exterminated in both cases.
The radio station had compiled numbers of questions to the president
from audience, mainly linked with World War II.
As for the question on who was a winner in the war and what the war
meant to Latvia, Vike-Freiberga told that the winners are undoubtedly
known - they were countries which put their signatures under the
armistice agreement. However, the winners are not connected with the
developments after the war in Europe, she said, reminding of the fact
that the end of the war brought freedom and democracy for one half of
the Europe, but for Latvia and many other countries - loss of
sovereignty and deprivation of life in a democracy.
Vike-Freiberga rejected concern of the audience that she has specific
affinity for Legionnaires who had fought in ranks of the German army,
thereby belittling Soviet veterans of WW II. The president told that she
had no right to grant any allowances to anyone, according to the
Constitution.
The president also pointed out that Latvia wanted to remain a neutral
country between the First and Second World War. However, both German and
Soviet occupation regimes recruited Latvian men in their armies during
WW II.
The president also confirmed that she would be a part of Victory Day in
Moscow as she had no reason to change her stance.
E.Zvinys
Here is a transcript of an interesting talk on the radio - about what
propaganda tales could (shall?) be used to create a public opinion in
Russia, on the eve of the May 9. Will Russians buy it?
http://www.omni.lt/?i$9359_70693$z_258774
Evaldas
lora...@cs.com
M. A. Specka wrote:
> On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 07:38:30 -0500, "«Pas de deux»"
> <kamou...@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> to
>
soc.culture.baltics,soc.culture.german,soc.culture.baltics,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.canada,soc.culture.nordic,soc.culture.polish,soc.culture.russian,soc.culture.ukrainian
>
> Stop spamming, please.
> At least a followup-to would be nice.
> Thank you in advance.
M. A. Specka wrote:
> On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 07:38:30 -0500, "«Pas de deux»"
> <kamou...@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> to
>
soc.culture.baltics,soc.culture.german,soc.culture.baltics,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.canada,soc.culture.nordic,soc.culture.polish,soc.culture.russian,soc.culture.ukrainian
>
> Stop spamming, please.
> At least a followup-to would be nice.
> Thank you in advance.
You, Specka, have something more important to say?
Give us a sample of your moribund local chatter, then.
Remaining hopeful,
Uno Hu
lora...@cs.com
M. A. Specka wrote:
> On 4 Mar 2005 07:23:20 -0800, zvi...@yahoo.com (E.Zvinys) wrote:
> TO
>
soc.culture.baltics,soc.culture.german,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.canada,soc.culture.nordic,soc.culture.polish,soc.culture.russian,soc.culture.ukrainian
>
> Stop spamming, please.
> At least a followup-to would be nice.
> Thank you in advance.
You're not one of those Putin youth, are you?
Uno Hu