Duda calls for seeking truth as Poland marks Volhynia killings anniversary
Polish President Andrzej Duda has said that only truth can be the foundation for mature and honest relations between Poland and Ukraine as he marked the 82nd anniversary of the mass killings of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two.
The Volhynia Massacre of Poles in the pre-war eastern-Polish regions of Volhynia and Galicia culminated on July 11, 1943, when the UPA, the Ukrainian nationalist militants, attacked some 100 Polish villages. The day is known as the Volhynia Bloody Sunday and is an official Polish memorial day.
"Only on truth, even the most difficult one, can we build mature and honest relations between nations, including between Poles and Ukrainians," Duda wrote on X on Friday.
"We want to and we have the right to know where their remains are buried," Duda continued. "The right to commemorate the Victims with dignity, and especially to commemorate them together, is an extremely important part of reconciliation and building a good future."
Karol Nawrocki, the right-wing president-elect who will replace Duda on August 6, used stronger words in his message on X on Friday.
"The Bloody Sunday, July, 11 1943 symbolises the culmination of the cruelty of the UPA criminals," he wrote. "For us Poles, this day is a time of reflection and prayer, remembering the brutally murdered children, women and the elderly."
"That is why I have consistently demanded a systemic solution by the Ukrainian authorities to the issue of consents for the search and exhumation of the victims of the Volhynia Massacre. Reconciliation can only be based on truth," Nawrocki added.
Recently, the Polish and Ukrainian governments reached an agreement on resuming the exhumations of Polish victims of Ukrainian nationalists in Ukraine. The research had been stalled for years due to a dispute between Warsaw and Kyiv over the role of the UPA, a WWII military organisation that Poland says was instrumental in mass killings of Polish civilians but which is often viewed as a liberation force by Ukrainians.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry took a more symmetric stance in a post on X on Thursday.
"On the eve of the day when the Republic of Poland commemorates the victims of the Volyn (Volhynia - PAP) tragedy, Ukraine shares the pain and grief of the Polish people. At the same time, we do not forget about the numerous Ukrainians who became innocent victims of interethnic violence, political repression and deportation on the territory of Poland. Ukraine honours the memory of all those who died, regardless of their nationality, religion or place of burial."
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said at an official ceremony commemorating the victims in Warsaw on Friday that he was "not one of those who would like to promote some kind of discord between Poland and Ukraine."
"Based on the truth that must be revealed, on respect for the past, I want to build the future," he continued. "This wound will not heal until it has been cleansed."
According to historians, around 100,000 Polish nationals were killed in the massacre, including 40,000-60,000 in Volhynia and 20,000-40,000 in Eastern Galicia, and at least 4,000 on the territory of today's Poland. According to Poland's National Remembrance Institute, some 10,000-12,000 Ukrainians were murdered during Polish retaliatory operations by the spring of 1945. (PAP)
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