In the border forest in the territory of Hrubieszów, the monument located at the burial site of UPA soldiers was damaged. The Embassy of Ukraine demands a fast determination of the perpetrators, and the case is handled by investigators. Poland must at the same time defend the legal order and conduct a sovereign, honest memory policy.
Damaged monument and diplomatic response
In the forest in the territory of Hrubieszów there was demolition of the monument at the site of burial of Ukrainian insurgent Army soldiers. According to the east Journal, the structure was damaged, the candles were removed from the site, and any of its elements were cut out. The case is handled by an investigator.
After the event, the Embassy of Ukraine responded, demanding urgent determination of perpetrators. At this stage, their identity and motive were not provided. So there is no reason to blame the individual or the environment. The state should base its consequence on evidence, not political conjecture.
Legal order not to be negotiated
Destroying a burial site or monument is not a method of conducting a historical dispute. Whoever self-destructs an object, then hits the legal order of the Republic and impedes the investigation into the truth. The police and the D.A. should explain the circumstances of the incident, safe traces and inform the public of the findings erstwhile the proceedings permit.
The decisive reaction of the state authorities is in the Polish interest. A abroad region must not become an area of provocation, self-judgment or action that will later be utilized against Poland in diplomatic disputes. Social tranquility and credibility of the state require law enforcement no substance how painful the historical context of the place is.
Memory of UPA requires fact and reciprocity
Defending the legal order does not mean agreeing to uncritical commemoration of UPA. For Poles, this formation remains inextricably connected with crimes committed on the Polish civilian population in Volyn and east Małopolska. This fact must not be diluted in the diplomatic language of generals. Memory of victims requires naming perpetrators and a permanent place in the country's historical policy.
Every facility commemorating members of UPA in Poland should operate in accordance with Polish law and its form and content must be subject to transparent evaluation of the applicable institutions. We besides request real reciprocity in matters of burial, exhumation and commemoration. Poland cannot accept the function of a petent in its own memory policy.
The State has 2 responsibilities
Warsaw should answer Kiev clearly. The perpetrators of the devastation are to be settled and settled in accordance with the law. At the same time, the Ukrainian side must respect the Polish historical sensitivity and the right of families of victims to the truth, worthy of burial of relatives and honest commemoration.
The safety of Poles on the border, the authority of the state and the protection of national memory are at stake. Mature politics do not choose between law and historical truth. The Republic has a work to defender both, on its own terms and without succumbing to pressure.
Source: Eastern Journal
