Eastern Promises

In the last weeks Poland has faced a series of challenges from her eastern neighbours. In Belarus the persecution of Polish minority has intensified, putting the Minister of Foreign Affairs in an awkward position during the visit of his Belarusian counterpart Minister Sierhiej Martynau. The President’s Lukashenko regime is sending an unclear message to Polish officials who publicly admit that they do not know how to read it.

In Ukraine, during his last days in office the President Victor Yushchenko (who Poland endorsed during the ‘Orange Revolution’) has ‘paid back’ his debt of support by rehabilitating one of the controversial WWII figures, and naming him a national hero. Stepan Bandera might be seen as a hero for some Ukrainians, but he is also considered as a cold blood murderer of innocent civilians in Galicia and Wolyn, as well as the ultra nationalist sympathising with Nazis. Yushchenko’s act aiming at getting support from far right movements in Ukraine has been widely condemned by Jewish community, Russian speaking Ukrainians and Polish State.

Meddling with history in the Eastern Europe is not a good idea, and it usually leads to the reopening of old wounds. The former President’s mischief only adds up to the recent election’s results, which by no means can be considered desirable for Poland. It is hard to imagine that newly elected Victor Yanukovych has forgotten how he was demonised by the Polish media and politicians just five years ago.

The above challenges can constitute to a stress test for Polish diplomacy. The thoughtful approach to these matters seems to be the right course of action for the administration, which at this point seems to be confused…or are they just being shy?