Poland threatens to deny entry to Ukrainians for anti-Polish interpretation of history
In a national television broadcast, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that the country may deny entry to Ukrainians who have an extremely anti-Polish stance in their interpretation of general history, Polskie Radio reports.
In Waszczykowski’s opinion, Ukraine is exploiting the fact that it is important for Poland in the area of security, and is trying to sideline historical matters.
According to the minister, Poland will never sacrifice historical truth for the sake of geopolitics. Waszczykowski said that the activity of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army cannot be compared to that of the Polish Home Army. “Even if we could find some incidents, we will not find killings by the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) on the scale of those which were committed by Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). There is no symmetry here, and we definitely need to point this out,” the minister observed.
Waszczykowski said that if Ukraine does not change its behavior in a number of matters which are important to Poland, then Poland will respond with a number of restrictions.
“If we don’t reach agreement, then we will initiate procedures which will make it impossible for persons representing extremely anti-Polish positions to come to Poland,” the minister said.
“People who demonstratively wear the SS Galicia uniform will not enter Poland,” onet.pl cites Waszczykowski as saying.
According to the minister, the consequences will also be felt by persons at an administrative level who, for political motives, do not allow the exhumation and restoration of polish memorial sites to continue.
Waszczykowski mentioned that at Ukraine’s request, Poland did not place the image of the Lviv Eagles Memorial on its passports.
“A return gesture – granting Polish restorers access to this graveyard – never came,” the minister lamented.
Waszczykowski said that under such circumstances he wonders whether he should advise President Andrzej Duda to travel to Ukraine at present.
In summer, Waszczykowski said that Ukraine will not join the EU if it makes a hero of Stepan Bandera. A similar statement had been made earlier by Jarosław Kaczyński, head of the ruling party in Poland.