Politicians from the right-wing Confederation party are criticizing the Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Zvarych, for his post published on the 80th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” massacre in Volhynia. The party says it now expects a reaction from the government and the president.
“On July 11, in solidarity with the Polish people, I pay tribute today to all civilian victims — citizens of the Second Polish Republic, murdered in the territories occupied by the Third Reich during World War II. I express my condolences to all the relatives and loved ones of the victims,” Ambassador Zvarych wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, regarding a massacre that saw Ukrainian nationalists kill over 100,000 Polish civilians, including women and children, during the Second World War.
The ambassador did not specify who committed the murders or who were the victims of the genocide in Volhynia, a fact pointed out by many people who commented on his post. On Wednesday, politicians from the Confederation party addressed the post during a press conference in the Polish parliament, the Sejm.
“Yesterday, we commemorated the 80th anniversary of the genocide committed by Ukrainians against Poles in the southeastern borderlands. It would seem that on such a day, if you have nothing to say, you should simply remain silent. But Ambassador Vasyl Zvarych decided to relativize evil and blur the facts by making such a post,” said MP Krystian Kamiński.
Kamiński stated that Poland cannot allow for “such a distortion of the facts and blurring of reality,” and it should summon Ambassador Zvarych.
“We should explicitly communicate to him that we do not agree with such behavior, that it should not be tolerated. If the ambassador cares about good relations with Poland, we advise him to take a break from diplomacy and improve his historical knowledge — and to write the truth,” he added.
“The genocide in Volhynia and eastern Lesser Poland was committed by Ukrainians against Poles in a brutal, often sadistic manner. This is the truth that should be acknowledged,” he said.
Kamiński noted that Poland expects the Ukrainian authorities to acknowledge the massacre, take responsibility, and consent to the exhumation and proper burial of the victims.
“Ambassador Vasyl Zvayich is acting to the detriment of Polish-Ukrainian relations. With such posts, he fosters the animosity of Poles toward Ukrainians. It is hard to imagine him continuing to head his Ukrainian diplomatic mission. He is also not a partner for a discussion about the truth, as he relativizes and downplays the evil that took place 80 years ago,” said the Confederation party’s Witold Stoch.
Confederation announced that it expects a diplomatic response from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda.
