The ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II will be attended by German chancellor
Angela Merkel and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. Polish and Russian commentators speculate that Mr Putin will try to avoid in his speech the difficult issue of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, under which the Red Army entered Poland on 17 September 1939. As if to confirm these speculations, the Russian public TV Vyesti broadcast last week a film The Secrets of Secret Protocols, which alleged that in 1939 Warsaw was in an anti-Russian alliance with Adolf Hitler, effectively justifying the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact on the strength of which the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany divided Poland between themselves.
The Polish government did not react to the airing of the film. The opposition has criticised the government for it. According to Ryszard Czarnecki (
PiS), the Foreign
Ministry's reaction to anti-Polish propaganda should be immediate and firm.
'During the ceremonies on
Westerplatte myself and president Kaczyński will present the Polish point of view, whether someone likes it or not. There will be no doubt who was the victim and who the perpetrator,' the prime minister said yesterday. 'This point of view doesn't have to be obligatory for everyone in the world but Poland has the right to its memory and no one will deprive us of it.'
Mr Tusk commented also on the Russian media 'revelations.' 'The government shouldn't react to media debates, even so unwise and unfair as the one on the Russian TV,' said the prime minister. He added that Polish diplomats had already made efforts for Polish historians and commentators to be able to present their views on Vyesti as well. He also said that if the Russian government presented false opinions, Warsaw would surely react.
'The broadcast shows how difficult a task we face - to defend the Polish memory and at the same time to improve our relations with Russia. We won't agree to choose a better future by turning our backs on the past,' said Mr Tusk. 'On the other hand, becoming preoccupied with the past isn't good either. This is a devilish dilemma. We can't make it disappear. We need to solve it. We want Polish-Russian relations to be based on truth.'
