|
|
Post by JustJohn or JJ on Jul 6, 2015 4:48:23 GMT -7
Russia outraged by Poland's removal of Soviet war memorial
ReutersBy By Marcin Goettig and Polina Devitt | Reuters – Sat, 4 Jul, 2015
By Marcin Goettig and Polina Devitt
MOSCOW/WARSAW (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it was outraged by Poland's destruction of a Soviet war monument, warning Warsaw of the "most negative consequences" after what it said was a flagrant violation of an agreement between the two countries on protecting memorial sites.
Poland has been one of the most vocal critics of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014. Russia and Poland share a history of conflicts and the disagreement over war memorials is likely to add to tensions.
"Warsaw must finally understand that the 'war of monuments' unleashed in Poland may have the most negative consequences, for which the responsibility lies squarely with its initiators," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Authorities in the western Polish town of Nowa Sol took down the brotherhood-in-arms of Polish and Red Army soldiers memorial at the end of June, reducing it to a pile of rubble.
"The monument was large (dozen tonnes of concrete), ugly, always dirty with rust leaking out of the abyss of its emptiness, like blood or tears," Wadim Tyszkiewicz, Nowa Sol's mayor said on his Facebook profile earlier this week.
"FLAGRANT VIOLATION"
The Russian ministry described the Polish action as an "unfriendly move" and a "direct and flagrant" violation of a 1994 agreement between Poland and the Russian Federation on memorial sites.
"One gets an impression that the mockery of our memorial sites in Poland has been built into the state policy," the Russian ministry said.
Poland's foreign ministry spokesman Marcin Wojciechowski told Reuters the move in Nowa Sol did not violate the agreement, which Poland believes only concerns cemeteries. Russia says it concerns all war memorials.
"Issues regarding monuments are within the competencies of relevant local authorities," Wojciechowski said.
A monument in Warsaw's Skaryszewski park commemorating Soviet soldiers who died in 1944 is regularly sprayed over with paint, despite close monitoring from the Warsaw police.
Poland was under Soviet occupation for over four decades following the Second World War. The last Russian soldiers left in 1993, 54 years after the first Soviet troops attacked the country in 1939, two weeks after the invasion launched by Nazi Germany.
Many Poles, now national heroes praised for their fight for independence, were persecuted by Soviet authorities after the war. Many were executed.
"Times have changed. We have grown up. The Russians are long gone," Nowa Sol's mayor said. "There is no extraordinary ideology here."
(Writing by Marcin Goettig; editing by Clelia Oziel)
|
|
|
|
Post by Nictoshek on Jul 6, 2015 5:50:46 GMT -7
 Well its about time ! |
|
|
|
Post by pieter on Jul 7, 2015 4:11:20 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Jul 7, 2015 4:33:25 GMT -7
I hope this is not a major monument and both sides would forget about it soon
|
|
|
|
Post by Nictoshek on Jul 7, 2015 4:36:39 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by pieter on Jul 7, 2015 4:49:59 GMT -7
It is stil standing and an important part of the Berlin center!
|
|
|
|
Post by karl on Jul 7, 2015 7:50:06 GMT -7
It is stil standing and an important part of the Berlin center! Thank you Pieter.. I was not to reply at first, but to leave this one alone for Polish People. Yes, the monument you presented is a fact and very well respected. It is respected for the manner of common respect to solders who died for their country, it matters little they were Russian, for they still lost their lives in combat. It matters nothing to little of the politects and bad memories for what ever, solders are the sons of their respective nation and lost the only life they had and this should be universal with respect. Karl |
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Jul 31, 2015 1:47:01 GMT -7
When I was in Northern Poland i saw a monument commemorating Soviet soldiers in good shape. I was happy to see that not everywhere in Poland these monuments are destroyed. We need to preserve the history, although Soviet involvemen in Polish independence is not that rosy...
|
|
|
|
Post by Nictoshek on Jul 31, 2015 6:18:54 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Jul 31, 2015 12:08:02 GMT -7
History is always in the process of being rewritten. It was just earlier this year that Poland and Ukraine agreed that it was UKRAINE that liberated Berlin from the Nazis, for example. Not only that, but Poland and Ukraine were liberating Europe while simultaneously, apparently, fighting against the USSR.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nictoshek on Nov 16, 2015 7:09:02 GMT -7
 Protesters light flare and carry Polish flags during a demonstration in Warsaw, Poland November 11, 2015. Moscow demands punishment for desecrators of Red Army monument in PolandRT Published time: 13 Nov, 2015 The Russian Foreign Mistry has expressed deep indignation over the recent vandalism of the Red Army memorial in Warsaw’s Skaryszewski Park and demanded that Polish authorities find and punish those responsible for it . Russian diplomats emphasized in their message that the attack on the monument took place during the celebrations of Poland’s Independence Day and noted that “It is very unlikely that Poland would today celebrate another anniversary of its independence if not for the heroism of 600,000 Soviet soldiers and officers who sacrificed their lives to liberate this country from Nazi invaders.” The Foreign Ministry also accused Polish authorities of failing to honor the 1994 Russian-Polish agreement on protection of military graves and memorials, adding that doubts could arise as to whether Polish officials actually intend to observe this agreement. Russia demanded urgent measures to find and punish the vandals, restoration of the monument in its original looks and measures to prevent any future repetitions of such incidents. This week’s scandal was not the first row between Poland and Russia over the fate of WWII monuments. In September this year, Russia's Foreign and Defense Ministries condemned the dismantling of a monument in the Polish town of Pieniezno which honored Soviet Army General Ivan Chernyakhovsky - one of the leaders of the Soviet campaign against Nazi Germany. Polish mass media previously reported that the removal of the Chernyakhovsky monument had been authorized by Polish officials on the grounds that its existence runs counter to “national interests.” In 2013, a crowd of Polish nationalists attacked the Russian embassy in Warsaw during the Independence Day celebrations, forcing police to use teargas and rubber bullets to protect the building. This incident, the largest in years, caused Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski to issue an official apology for the “acts of hooliganism” and admit that the incident had been detrimental to the image of Poland on the international stage. 'Communists will be hanging': Nationalist march commemorates Poland's Independence DayPolish nationalists attack Russian embassy during Independence Day march |
|
