An article by Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza titled “The Curse of Volhynia. Ghosts of the Past Return” published in Ukrainian on the website espreso.tv, sent violent ripples across society. The renowned Polish public and political figure, journalist, publisher, dissident and political prisoner openly opposed anti-Ukrainian sentiment, so popular in Polish society and warmed up by the Sejm’s passing of the resolution “On Marking July 11 as the Day of Remembrance of Polish Victims of the Genocide Committed by OUN-UPA.”
Past week Ukrainian-Polish relations were also exacerbated by an appeal of outstanding representatives of Ukrainian public to the Verkhovna Rada, in which they urge the MPs to formally give an adequate estimation to the anti-Ukrainian resolutions passed by the Polish parliament and denounce the criminal actions of Poles on ethnic Ukrainian territories before, during, and after the Second World War. Despite the fact that the awkward problems of sensitive history of our two peoples seem to have been long ago discussed and sorted out, discord and misunderstandings grow not only due to officials’ politicking and populism, but also due to the media which refuse to seriously re-think the theme of reconciliation. Actually, this is Michnik’s point.
“Something really evil has happened: diehard stupidity and astounding cowardice have undermined the gains of decades of wise policies of wise Poles and Ukrainians.” These words open Michnik’s column. “These ghosts were described a couple of decades ago on the pages of Paris-based Kultura by Jozef Lobodowski: an author with a gripping, extraordinary biography, a great supporter of the Polish-Ukrainian dialog. Touching upon this burning issue, he remarked: ‘The terrain where the few Ukrainian-Polish encounters do happen, bristles with anti-tank hedgehogs, is full of wolf holes, strewn with bilateral prejudice and suspicion, soaked with the stinking water of anarchic views. It must be at least partly cleaned and drained, otherwise we will be lost there without hope.’ Of course, on both sides of the barricades there are people who cannot be helped. Some will always say, ‘Tell me whatever you want, but I know that all Ukrainians are mad hounds!’ while others will retort with ‘Pole, Jew, and dog are all equally good.’
“For many years the policy of Jerzy Giedroyc’s Paris-based magazine Kultura shaped the way of thinking of Polish democratic opposition and later, consequently, that of the subsequent governments and presidents of the Third Rzeczpospolita. Each conflict was transformed into a dialog, and a constant need of a compromise resulted from the conscious political will of Polish and Ukrainian elites.
“…Without even a discussion about whether it was a genocide or only a bloody ethnic purge, the passing of the resolution by the Polish MPs became a demonstration of stupidity, chauvinism, and baseness. It was a slap to the face of Ukrainian democracy and of Ukrainian (often pro-Polish) patriots.
“This resolution did not deal with historical truth, for 70 years later no parliament in the world would be able to declare it. It was about pseudo-patriotic races of political elites: some will be accused of ‘patriotic imperfection’ while others will be able to avoid such an accusation.” [See the full version of the material on the website of Espresso TB and Den, in the rubric TOP-NET].
DEN MADE ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMPLICATED UKRAINIAN-POLISH RELATIONS AS EARLY AS IN 2004, BY PUBLISHING ITS BOOK WARS AND PEACE, OR UKRAINIANS AND POLES: BROTHERS/ENEMIES, NEIGHBORS. IF PEOPLE READ THE RIGHT BOOKS AT THE RIGHT TIME (IN PARTICULAR, POLISH POLITICIANS EAGER TO REVIEW HISTORY), THEY WOULD HARDLY HAVE UNDERMINED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES, WHICH LONG AGO ASKED EACH OTHER FOR FORGIVENESS / Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
Having shared Michnik’s text on his Facebook page, Mykola Kniazhytsky (an MP and expert media manager) remarked: “You might disagree with Adam Michnik, but he needs to be heard, both in Poland and in Ukraine.” Den/The Day’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna reacted to her Polish counterpart’s column with the following words: “All of today’s problems in Europe are very much due to the media which made idiots famous and played in the hands of populists… They swapped values and quality for what might seem to be market laws. That is why sometimes you cannot believe your own eyes when you see what some influential papers write. Meanwhile, only a handful of individuals are capable of going against the flow. Thank you, Adam Michnik!”
What is the role and responsibility of media (both European and Ukrainian) in the exacerbation of the Polish-Ukrainian conflict? Why so few are prepared to “go against the flow” on both sides of the barricades? The Day asked these questions to its experts.
“POPULISM CAN EASILY MAKE POLAND PREY TO RUSSIA’S AGGRESSION”
Mykola KNIAZHYTSKY, MP, Ukraine:
“Today Adam Michnik is no political leader. He is an opinion leader, an authority with journalists. Unfortunately, this type of leader is in minority in contemporary Poland. And it means that Poland is going through very hard times. The policy carried out by some local leaders is quite dangerous as it can jeopardize the very existence of the Polish State, for populism can easily attract the Russian aggressor. In the times of Giedroyc, Polish intellectuals always said that independent Poland and independent Ukraine must support each other. The then opinion leaders did everything to find a compromise in the views on our complicated shared past. The present-day Polish elite’s one-sided views of the Ukrainian question stirred Michnik’s resentment. It is good that there are people in Polish society who are not afraid to say this out loud.
“Europe is going through hard times today. We have grown up into adulthood as a nation. We must not look up with admiration to Europe’s politicians and to European journalism, as we did before. We must not underestimate our own strength. Ukraine has survived a complicated period of recent history, proving its capability as a strong nation. Thus, many might learn something from us. On the other hand, this learning should take place in a united European family. No matter what our objections to European leaders’ might be, no matter how bad our disappointment with their media (realizing their influence on society), we still must understand that together we must share common values. There is no alternative to this. The abyss between Ukraine and Russia, the aggressor country, is much deeper and wider. We should only rely on ourselves, yet we must learn to stand up for ourselves in arguments with our neighbors. And here a very important role belongs to media’s principled, professional approach: they must act as a platform for understanding instead of adding oil to the fire.”
“ADAM MICHNIK’S POSITION IS NOT TYPICAL FOR POLISH ELITES TODAY”
Mykhailo BASARAB, political scientist:
“Practically all leading Ukrainian and Polish mass media wrote how the public urged the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to establish remembrance days for the Ukrainian victims of Polish crimes. This goes by ‘reaction of the Ukrainian side.’ It means that the relations between the two countries are sufficiently covered by the media. One might wish there were more quality discussions, in particular, on television. But all those who are interested in this topic have good platforms for receiving and discussing information. A good example here, among others, could be seen in The Day with its focus on this theme in particular and history in general. Until recently, there were regular meetings of scholars from Ukraine and Poland. There were official statements. The discourse on the shared historical past has taken place, moreover, it was filled with extensive factual base. However, when the Polish MPs passed their famous decision, they probably ignored the gains of our elites. They neglected the opinions of renowned public figures in both countries and passed a decision which is politicking, not policy. A political decision means responsibility and objectivity. However, in this case we see bold-faced speculation. Polish politicians tried to use this populist step to boost their prestige. No one other than politicians raised the tension in the media and radicalized society. And then, they became hostage to their very own propagandist activity and reacted accordingly to those sentiments in society.
“Adam Michnik is a long-time participant of the Ukrainian-Polish dialog. He is an intellectual known for his well-grounded, moderate standpoint. Of course, his current position is not typical for current sentiments among the Polish elites and the general sentiment in Polish society which is undergoing a process of radicalization. Michnik is above the trend, yet he remains true to himself. It is good that these people display political responsibility and voice their standpoint, although it will go against the grain in the larger part of Polish society.”
