A signature collection is starting under a civic legislative initiative aimed at introducing a ban on the promotion of Banderaism. The campaign was announced by the Mayor of Chełm and member of the Council for Local Government Affairs to the President of the Republic of Poland, Jakub Banaszek.
As he stated in a social media post, “the law introducing a ban on the promotion of ‘Banderaism’ in Poland is an expression of respect for the victims of the Volhynia genocide and a defense of historical truth.”
“Together with local government officials, we are launching a signature collection under a civic legislative initiative concerning the introduction of a ban on the promotion of Banderaism,” he said.
The local government official announced that the activities will begin next week. At that time, the committee will also be officially registered.
“Only respect for our murdered compatriots and our history will ensure that others also respect us. Memory and dignity are not subject to negotiation!” he wrote on the X platform.
He added that “the citizens’ voice will also support the presidential draft law on this matter.”
“I am very grateful for this support. The draft law that I prepared together with the then President of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), Karol Nawrocki, criminalizing the promotion of the OUN-UPA and Banderaism, as well as the so-called ‘Volhynia lie’, and introducing amendments to the Criminal Code, has been stalled for over 1.5 years in the Committee on Justice and Human Rights. It can only be moved forward by a large civic initiative,” commented the initiative Przemysław Czarnek, deputy head of Law and Justice (PiS).
The presidential bill “Stop Banderaism” was submitted to the Sejm in September 2025. It proposes amendments to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance and to the Criminal Code.
“The purpose of this amendment is to counteract the dissemination on the territory of the Republic of Poland of false claims regarding crimes committed by members and collaborators of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Bandera faction, and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, as well as other Ukrainian formations collaborating with the Third German Reich, in particular the crime of genocide committed against Poles in Volhynia. Furthermore, the draft law provides for an increase in the statutory penalties for illegal crossing of the state border and for organizing illegal border crossings for others,” according to the official website of the President.