President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine has hailed the decision by the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland to recognize as unconstitutional such terms as “Ukrainian nationalists,” “Eastern Little Poland” in the law on the Polish Institute of National Remembrance and thanked his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda for initiating this undertaking.
“I am grateful to Polish President Andrzej Duda for initiating this case and I sincerely hail the decision of the Tribunal. Let’s continue our work strengthening of Ukrainian-Polish partnership,” Poroshenko wrote on his Facebook page on January 17.
In turn, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko said on his Facebook page that this decision resolves one of the key issues for Ukraine in bilateral relations with Poland.
“This decision resolves one of the principal issues for us, which has caused serious tensions in Ukrainian-Polish bilateral relations as of recent,” Rozenko said.
Also, he said he hopes for the dialogue to be continued and that all problematic issues between the two states, “which have accumulated over the decades” will be resolved.
As earlier reported, the Senate of Poland on February 1 adopted without any amendments the law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which foresees, in particular, punishment for “crimes of Ukrainian nationalists.”
The bill was supported by 57 senators, mainly from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party, 23 voted against the document, and two abstained. Amendments to the law envisage fines or imprisonment for up to three years for “sharing responsibility before the Polish people or the state, including for crimes committed by the Third Reich.”
In addition, the document envisages punishment for denial of the “Volyn massacre” and the use of the expression “Polish death camps” in relation to the camps that were located in Poland during the Second World War.
President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine said he was concerned about the decision of the Senate of Poland.
The Verkhovna Rada on February 6 issued a statement to expresses its disappointment and concerns over the adoption of amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation and other legislative acts, and also called on Polish President Andrzej Duda to intervene in the situation.
On the same day, February 6, President Duda sign changes to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance. Thus, the amendments passed earlier by the Polish Senate came into effect. At the same time, Duda said that in practical terms it may be impossible to punish those who violate the new law, especially, if the violations take place outside of Poland.
At the same time, Duda the new document must be checked for compliance with the Polish Constitution, including the words “Ukrainian nationalists” and the words “Eastern Little Poland.” He also said that he would approach the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland with a request to give an assessment to the new amendments.
