Demonstrations near Polish diplomatic missions in Ukrainian cities. That’s how Ukrainian nationalists demanded that the President of Poland not sign a law on criminal responsibility for denying Banderites’ crimes.
Ivan Belayev knows the consequences.
Kiev residents are holding demonstrations again. This time, near the Polish embassy. Warsaw caused disfavor for laws against Bandera ideology. Denial of Ukrainian nationalists' crimes during World War II and Bardera ideology propaganda are strictly banned and punishable by a prison term. Ukrainians think that this position is unacceptable.
"They're against our heroes who fought for their land, for their history and culture, and they blame us. They harmed our people more than we harmed them. We had a period when we fought, but now they belittle our heroes and prohibit our patriots' ideology".
Svoboda, the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists, and the Right Sector banned in Russia. They traditionally took people to the streets showing their protest.
Demonstrations took place in six cities which have Polish consulates. Kiev, Vinnitsa, Lutsk, Odessa, Kharkov, and Lvov.
"We're calling on the Polish government not to sign these chauvinist laws and not to adopt them. There are thousands of Ukrainians in Poland and there are many Poles in Lvov. Fomenting struggle between nations is unacceptable. The red-and-black Bandera flag that Ukraine is fighting, that's now on the front line against Russia, is a relic for us".
Irina Farion, Svoboda member: "For us, this flag is a symbol of our nation-centric and nationalist path. So, I want to tell our nearest neighbors, not only Poland but also those who opposed our correct Banderist path".
No one in Poland will ever forget where this Banderist path leads to. During the massacre organized by the Ukrainian rebel army in 1943, up to 60,000 ethnic Poles died. And it's only in Volhynia. Counting other territories, historians think that 100,000 killed isn't an exaggeration.
But Svoboda's head in Odessa seems not to know this. He thinks that Kiev and Warsaw just need to start a dialog to resolve the conflicts of the past. And Ukrainian nationalist ideology isn't a barrier.
Pavel Kirilenko, head of Svoboda: "No one can tell citizens of an independent state whom to worship and whom not. As we don't tell the Poles whom they are allowed to respect and name their heroes, and whom they aren't allowed to call heroes".
Ukrainian parliament speaker Andrei Parubiy threatened to consider a draft as a response to the law about Banderists at the Verkhovnaya Rada hearing. But experts are sure that the position of the Poles can't be changed.
Andrei Buzarov, expert: "Whatever their reaction is, it's too late. I don't think that the Verkhovnaya Rada can introduce any tough or drastic measures. like suspending diplomatic relations, lowering their level or sending a non-confidence notice to the ambassador and so on. It won't lead to this. Speaker Parubiy talks about the common position of the whole parliament and so on. I doubt that some Ukrainian parliamentarians can vote for this statement. Because in our society, there's no consensus on Bandera and nationalists".
Is Bandera's ideology so close to everyone in Ukraine and do they support nationalists? The whole Ukrainian society needs to be asked. That's what political scientists think.
But in Poland, there seems to be no disagreement about the law against Bandera. The country's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, recently stated that denying the Holocaust means shifting responsibility for genocide from the criminals to the victims, and Warsaw can't allow falsification of history in this matter.
Ivan Belyaev, Vesti
