Controversy has flared up once again in Polish political circles: 21 members of the Sejm have appealed to the authorities to hold a Polish Independence March in Lviv, Ukraine, on 11 November. The MPs believe this event could serve as a reminder of the importance of the Polish community outside their homeland. However, the proposal to hold the march, put forward by Dariusz Matecki, a politician from the Law and Justice party, has sparked a wave of criticism and accusations of provocation.
Among those who signed the appeal are leaders and prominent politicians from the right, including Jarosław Kaczyński and Grzegorz Braun. But not all Polish politicians have backed this initiative. For example, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that criminal proceedings should be brought against one of the signatories for damaging a monument on Polish territory.
The Ukrainian civil society organisation ‘Memory and Justice’ expressed strong opposition to the initiative, stating that such actions could undermine good-neighbourly relations between Ukraine and Poland. Their statement emphasises that Ukrainians are not attempting to hold their own marches on Polish streets, and they are calling on the Polish government to reject this “irresponsible initiative”.
Discussion of this initiative has flared up on social media, but no official comments have yet been issued by the Ukrainian authorities. It is interesting to note that tensions have recently arisen specifically in the context of Polish-Ukrainian relations — in June, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, in response to the Ukrainian president’s decree renaming a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in honour of the ‘Heroes of the UPA’.
At the NATO summit in July, Zelenskyy and Nawrocki held a long-awaited meeting, during which they discussed not only their differences but also the need for cooperation in the face of a common threat from Russia. Both leaders agreed to continue the dialogue, recognising the importance of unity in the face of geopolitical instability.