Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said during a press conference that he hopes that “despite the differences in historical assessments that we have not only with Ukraine, the solidarity of our nations also will not be undermined by nationalists on either side.”
Sikorski manipulates history again
The foreign minister was asked by journalists in the Sejm on Wednesday about recent critical remarks made by politicians, including members of Law and Justice (PiS), among them Przemysław Czarnek, as well as independent MP Janusz Kowalski, concerning Volodymyr Zelensky, whom they accuse of glorifying Banderism, and Deputy Minister Andrzej Szeptycki, who they say distorts history by equating Banderites with Poland’s Cursed Soldiers.
“This is scandalous. Poland is the homeland of all its citizens, regardless of their religion or origin. I believe that such nationalist offensives amount to summoning the ghosts of the darker chapters of Polish history. I hope our fellow citizens will not be deceived by this,”
Sikorski said.
The right will not allow history to be falsified
According to opposition MPs, Szeptycki’s comparison is unacceptable. Members of the governing coalition defended the deputy minister’s right to interpret historical events.
The immediate trigger for the debate on relations with Ukraine and Ukrainians was a statement by Polish People’s Party (PSL) MP Jarosław Rzepa, who described PiS MP Dariusz Matecki as a “political parasite feeding on the lowest instincts while having nothing to offer except hatred.” PiS Vice President Przemysław Czarnek responded that “one must be an exceptional hypocrite to call someone a parasite while supporting a government that claims the OUN-UPA genocidal perpetrators were something akin to the Cursed Soldiers.”
“From this very place, a year and a half ago, we debated a bill banning Banderism and a bill against Volhynia denial. (…) We now know why you froze that legislation in the Justice Committee. It was so that this government could continue to include people like Szeptycki. Why are there still Ukrainians in this government insulting Poles?”
Czarnek asked.
“A slap in the face to Poles”
On X, Przemysław Czarnek described Donald Tusk’s lack of reaction to Andrzej Szeptycki’s remarks as scandalous and stressed that the prime minister bears “political responsibility for people who relativize genocide and glorify criminal Banderism.”
“This is not ‘Europeanism.’ It is a slap in the face to Poles and to the memory of the victims of the genocide committed against Poles. You may call me whatever you like. I will stand on the side of the truth about the Volhynia genocide and the good name of those who were murdered in it. You, on the other hand, are covering yourself in shame,”
he wrote.
PiS MPs criticized Deputy Minister of Science Andrzej Szeptycki from the parliamentary podium for his statement that members of the UPA were “somewhat like Ukrainian Cursed Soldiers.” PiS Vice President Przemysław Czarnek called it a scandal that Szeptycki remains in the government. He also demanded a recess in parliamentary proceedings and the convening of the Council of Elders “to explain why there are still Ukrainians in this government insulting Poles.”
“Extremely unfortunate” remarks, but “he stays”
Speaking about the issue during RMF FM’s morning program, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz defended her colleague.
“He is a very good minister. He works hard to ensure that Polish science enjoys strong international relations. He is a minister from Poland 2050, and we decide whether our ministers remain in the government,”
she stressed.
Asked whether Szeptycki could be dismissed, she firmly ruled out such a possibility.
“He is definitely staying. He does a great deal of good, hard work,”
she said.
“What is this man still doing in the Polish government?”
Marcin Przydacz, head of the Presidential Office for International Policy, stated on Sunday that Deputy Minister Andrzej Szeptycki should disappear from Donald Tusk’s government.
“What is this man still doing in the Polish government after such a statement? The very next day, he should either resign out of shame or be dismissed. And if Donald Tusk is unwilling to do that, then if Mr. Zgorzelski and Mr. Kosiniak truly defend Polish history and the Polish truth, they should urgently demand that the minister and the prime minister remove this man from the Polish government,”
Przydacz said.