The law on the Institute of National Remembrance (INR) in Poland has caused a "diplomatic disaster", resulting in the largest opposition party in the parliament, Civil Platform, submitting a draft amendment to the law on the INR to the Sejm next Tuesday.
"The drafting of the law on INR by Minister Jaki [Patryk] and fatal explanations by Prime Minister [Mateusz Morawiecki] led to a diplomatic disaster. That's why on Tuesday we will submit a draft amendment to this law. There is no place for half-step events, we need a quick and united reaction. By all of us," party leader Grzegorz Schetyna wrote on Twitter.
Read alsoPoland's drift to nationalism: what should Ukraine do about itAs UNIAN reported earlier, the Polish Sejm and Senate passed a law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which, inter alia, bans promotion of the ideology of Ukrainian nationalists. The law also introduces criminal liability for the assertion that the Poles were aiding the Nazis during World War II.
President of Poland Andrzej Duda signed the law and forwarded it to the Constitutional Court of the country for a review.
The Polish Foreign Ministry explains that the law concerns only those who publicly and contrary to facts deny the crimes committed by "collaborators of the Nazi regime" and noted that the main purpose of the law is "to combat all forms of denial and distortion of truth about the Holocaust," as well as to fight with "talking down the responsibility of the true perpetrators".
Read alsoPolish president signs highly controversial Holocaust bill, drawing rare U.S. rebuke – mediaIsrael came out categorically against the Polish law, claiming no law is able to change historical facts. The Israeli foreign ministry expressed hope that the Polish authorities would amend the legislation.
The U.S. State Department called on Poland to review the law, as it could affect Polish strategic interests and relations, including with the United States and Israel.
