Jerzy Giedroyc version oftheinfluentialémigré journal 2 People’s Poland(Pol. pospolita partition of1795),theSecondRepublic(Pol. officially numbered asfollows: theFirstRepublic(Pol. 1 closely linked tothesovereignty ( were thenpartsoftheUSSR Mieroszewski andGiedroyc, ofhow to approach , (ULBforshort),which Lithuaniaand principles fundamental several on drawn constantly has policy eastern Republic’s Third the turns, and twists various Despite No free Polandwithout a free Ukraine change canbedescribedas‘a farewell toGiedroyc’. guided nearly 25 years of Poland’s policy towards its Eastern European neighbours. Symbolically, this have that assumptions the from departure the turn-around: fundamental a of symptom a is It sion. deci a one-off as seen be not should Belarus, to officially including abroad, broadcast be to channel Polish-language new a for funds to on savings those pass and funding Belsat’s reduce drastically to excuse for an overall reflection on Poland’s eastern policy as it is being conducted today. The proposal The plansforthefuture ofTVBelsat presented by Foreign MinisterWitoldWaszczykowski are agood Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz A farewell toGiedroyc , January2017 In Polishhistoriography, periodsofthestatehoodRepublicPoland(Pol. , afterthedemocratic transition of1989).TheperiodCommunistrule(1944–1989)are referred toas , aPolishwriter,politicalactivist, publisherandeditorof Polska Ludowa wasanjournalist,publicistand politicalcommentator.HewaseditoroftheEnglish 1 . The roots of these principles lay in the concept, formulated in the 1960s by 1960s the in formulated concept, the in lay principles these of roots The . 2 . These principles can be summarised as follows: Poland’s freedom is freedom Poland’s follows: as summarised be can principles These . ). de facto II. Rzeczpospolita independence from Russia) of our eastern neighbours. If neighbours. eastern our of Russia) from independence published inParis.Hewasalso a closecollaborator andfriendof I. Rzeczpospolita , 1918–1945)andtheThird Republic(Pol. , from themid-15thcentury untilthefinal Kultura . Rzeczpospolita Polska III. ) are un Rzecz - - -

1 Stefan Batory Foundation support of the true independence of our Eastern European neighbours, and thus, indirectly, of Polish in activity undertaking meant primarily It values. certain for support of demonstrations simply than more constituted – language Belarusian the in broadcasting Belsat, TV of creation the was which of In accordance with this logic, the promotion of democracy in Belarus and Ukraine – one manifestation make them susceptibletothetemptationseeksupportfromconsequently Russia. will and West, the to opposition in countries these set automatically will ment govern of systems Authoritarian democratisation. their is Europe Eastern and Central of states the of sovereignty full the to conducive condition Another inviolable. and final as war the after up drawn border Polish eastern the accepting all, above ULB; the to aspirations imperial own its renouncing means which countries, these of independence the support should Warsaw why is Polish sovereignty.That suppress to strive to want longer no will then designs, imperial Russia’s resist they 3 and availability document’s the increased which Card Polish the on Act the to amendment an by substance given even were statements These statements. pre-election PiS’s in even clear and loud for assistance boost to need the ethnic the of conviction The Polishness. of promotion the on emphasis ing increas an by accompanied been has democratisation supporting of policy the from departure This meetings were arranged withthenon-governmental pro-democracy groups. indicative is It level. highest the that during Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s visit to , he met President at Lukashenko, but no meetings Polish-Belarusian of full was 2016 time, same the At Ukraine. at targeted projects democratisation and modernisation Brussels’ of implementation and planning the in participate principle in Poland did Nor Ukraine. in particularly Europe, Eastern of countries the in democratisation for entities Polish by activities to allocated money of pool the reduced repeatedly also apply to the Polish-based will cuts budget The change. this confirming action only the TV nor first the neither Polish-language is channel overseas the to resources additional allocate and Belsat for funding reduce to plan The ness. Polish of promotion the of issue the is change this of forefront the At priority. a be to ceasing is neighbourhood eastern its in democracy for support change: fundamental a undergoing is policy Eastern Poland’s assurances, verbal and provisions formal these to contrary However, including President AndrzejDudaandMinisterWaszczykowski. of strengthening democracy in Ukraine were also repeatedly heard in statements by Polish politicians, process the in involvement Polish of Declarations society”. civil for support and rights, human of tion of democratisation and reform of the state, the construction of modern state institutions, the promo are listed as priority partners, and the main objectives of Polish policy include “support for the process plan for aid to developing countries for the years 2016-2020, as in previous years, Ukraine and Belarus the In operational. remain above described as policy eastern Polish of principles the all Superficially, Polishness above all sovereignty aswell. Referred to as

Polish diaspora Polish Polonia , androughly estimatedataround 20millionpeople. 3

and abroad, especially compatriots from Eastern Europe, sounded Europe, Eastern from compatriots especially abroad, Poles and Radia Ratsya which broadcasts in Belarusian. Last year, the government - - - -

2 Stefan Batory Foundation in Poland is considered to be the correct one – is fundamentally important to the development of development good relations betweenourcountries. the to important fundamentally is – one correct the be to considered is Poland in clearly intensified that Ukrainianhas respect for our historicalconviction sensitivity – and thusthe for this view ofpart, history, which Poland’s For crimes. Volhynia the around discussion the by strated demon clearly as memory, historical to approach new completely a includes also policy Eastern tric’ ‘Poland-cen This language. Polish the and Poland with contact in interested people all to addressed be would television Polish-language new the for project Waszczykowski,the Minister of words the In However, the promotion of Polishness in the East goes far beyond the issue of the Polish community. Card-holders themselves,butalsotomembersoftheirfamilies to the only not offered was assistance financial addition, In offices. provincial in also but consulates, attractiveness, for registering residence inPoland,amongotherbenefits. is issuedtorepresentatives ofthePolishdiaspora who donotholdPolishcitizenship.TheCard easesprocedures 4 dence ofUkraine istodaymore importantforPolandthanatanytimein thepastfew decades. ed in Kiev becoming dependent on Moscow. lationship betweenUkrainianRussian political and & businesselites was strengthened,which result extremely closely related. Every time antidemocratic tendencies arose in Ukraine, the pathological re are Ukraine of sovereignty the limiting influence Russian to susceptibility and authoritarianism that shownclearly has USSR the of collapse the since passed has that quarter-century The independence. its for condition sufficient) itself of not (though necessary a remains Ukraine of democratisation The assumptions, thispolicyistodayperhapsmore relevant thanever inthelast25years. fundamental its in that fact the change not does this Nevertheless, alterations. requires edly Thus the eastern policy concept as founded on the ideas of Giedroyc and Mieroszewski undoubt ernise thearchaic and unattractive presentation ofTVPolonia. definitely Belarus, and Ukraine deserves an appropriate response in from our country. One element years of this response should be severalto mod for rising visibly been has which language, Polish the learn to demand The approach. reasonable entirely an be to seems Polishness promoting Also, nection from reality. discon a of display a be simply and irrational, totally be now would government Belarusian the with receive encouragement from Poland and the EU. However, maintaining the policy of freezing relations This does not mean that there are no reliable democratic groups in Belarus which should continue to as they show supportfortheUnionincreasing aftertheliftingofmostitssanctionsagainstMinsk. pression of Lukashenko. In this context, the results of opinion polls among Belarusians are indicative, majority of Belarusian society is not interested in Polish and EU protection against the ‘dictatorial’ op the that fact the acknowledge to not difficult is it Minsk, against sanctions diverse most the of years These new trends in eastern policy are, at least in part, a response to the changing reality. After twenty The illusionofpower The PolishCard (Pol. inter alia Karta Polaka by allowing the submission of requests for the document not only in Polish in only not document the for requests of submission the allowing by ) isadocumentconfirmingthat theholderbelongstoPolishnation,and Meanwhile, the real (and not merely formal) indepen 4 . ------

3 Stefan Batory Foundation tance. The independence of the ULB (to use Giedroyc’s abbreviation), especially Ukraine, is a key factor impor particular on takesenvironment immediate our in forces of constellation the situation, this In second-largest memberintermsofmilitarystrength. of NATO is being posed by the authoritarian and anti-Western course adopted by Turkey, the Alliance’s apart from the disturbing signals coming out of Washington, an increasing challenge to the cohesion of area trans-Atlantic the of defence principled a dertake the first time since the end of the Cold War, the willingness of our main ally – the United States – to un security. our of boundaries the defining in factor important an is allies those for of Meanwhile, ability reli the turn, In allies. our choose can we that rather but ourselves, defend to able are we that mean not does Sovereignty dimension. security the in self-sufficient not is country our that forget we ests’, inter own its for NATO and EU the in fight to ‘able Poland’, ‘strong a about statements repeating By our countries’sovereignties, weare alwaysonthesamesideofbarricades. of issue the to regard with that, societies and states between trust the built: be should region entire the of security the concept, Giedroyc’s to according which, upon that undermine may we however, all, Above nationalisms. Ukrainian and Polish between collision a of victims the become to want not do certainly who Ukraine, in living Poles the among country our to attitude positive a deal: great a bours’ concerns about the return of Polish neo-imperialism. If that were to happen, Poland could lose of promoting Polishness, conducted at the expense of support for democracy, will awaken our neigh policy careless this happen, to this want not do we if even that risk a is There Poland. of Republic the incidents, which unfortunately have not been unequivocally condemned by the highest authorities of nationalist of overrecentmonths country our increasein bythe as well government,as Polish bythe today promoted being narrative historical assertive the by exacerbated be also may concerns These but bereceived inUkraine, oreven inLithuania,as a disturbingfactattheveryleast. cannot satrap pro-Russian this of expectations the to hostage television Polish-language of content the make to willingness same the stage, planning the past goes never idea the if even Thus, regime. Belarusian pro-Moscow, authoritarian, his of requirements the to adapted be to content channel’s rule. this breaks definitely Belarus in channels television official on broadcast station Polish-language a to Belsat ‘converting’ of idea The concerns. these reduce to helped significantly values ropean democratic of spread the with parallel in place took East the in Polishness of tion groups. social and politicians some of minds the on play still fears such form, open less or more a in that, proof is minority Polish the against in icy disappeared. completely has atavistic) if (evenEurope Eastern in domination Polishness. of promotion aggressive overly and In this new international reality, we cannot turn a blind eye to the risks associated with the inadequate The demonsofnationalism interests. security basic our to contrary as regarded be must Ukraine, in particularly Europe, Eastern in democracy support to failure today, operates Poland which in situation international complex etc.). Poland, in system defence missile US the of installation the Ukraine, in es NATOof presence the forcas (such Moscow,security to accordingits threaten which, neighbours its by decisions such block to right Russia’s pushes concept This neighbours. its to regard with actively which serves as a barrier to the concept of ‘limited sovereignty’ which Russia is articulating ever more It is clear that the project would require the approval of Lukashenko, who will expect the expect will who Lukashenko, of approval the require would project the that clear is It It would be na be would It The fact that in past decades any promo any decades past in that fact The security has been called into question. And question. into called been has ​security ï ve to think that the fear of Polish of fear the that think to ve In the increasingly the In The restrictive pol and pro-Eu ​and ------

4 Stefan Batory Foundation http://www.batory.org.pl/en availableonourwebsite: programme otherpublicationsbytheOpenEurope We recommend Stefan BatoryFoundation. ofthe programme waspublishedaspartoftheOpenEurope toGiedroyc’ The publication‘Afarewell www.batory.org.pl [email protected] fax (48-22)5360220 tel. (48-22)5360200 00-215 Warsaw Sapieżyńska 10a Stefan BatoryFoundation

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