Thursday, June 29, 2017

Poland towards fascistization? Parliament passes law envisaging the demolition of Soviet monuments

Members of a Polish neo-fascist group giving
the Nazi salute.
Anti-communist, reactionary hysteria in Poland continues...

According to the Russian news agency TASS, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, the Sejm, voted on Thursday to introduce amendments to the country’s de-communization law, envisaging the demolition of Soviet-era monuments, including memorials in honor of the Red Army. "The law has been passed," the press service of the Sejm confirmed to TASS.

The majority of parties of the Polish parliament endorsed the amendments in the first and second readings. A total of 408 MPs voted yes, seven said no, and another 15 abstained.

From its side, the Communist Party of Poland (CPP) released a statement condemning the Parliament's latest decision. The following report is from international communist press (ICP): 

According to CPP, the anticommunist law introduced on 22nd of June aims for the destruction of monuments commemorating the liberation of Poland from the Nazis, for which the Polish nation is in debt of gratitude to Soviet soldiers.
CPP also reminds that “Plans of changing names of the streets and removing monuments cause social resistance in many places” and that it will “support all activities in favour of preserving historical remembrance and calls for participation in initiatives that oppose falsifying of the history.”
CPP delegates have already participated in an event for the opening of the monument of Soviet Soldiers in Mikolin, whose construction and opening were completed with efforts of Polish people. The opening of the monument was held on the same day new law was passed.
The monument in Mikolin “commemorates about 700 soldiers fallen in this place during crossing of the Oder river. This monument was created in October 1945 and it is the oldest one in the liberated Europe. The Institute of National Remembrance already announced that this memorial will have to be removed.”
CPP, underlines the main goal of these actions of the Polish parliament as being to falsify the history as “long term propaganda equating communism with fascism attempts to erase the memory of those who struggled against fascism and destroyed it”. CPP had also denounced the change of street names within the framework of the anticommunist law passed by Polish government early June this year. 
In addition, one day before the extension of the anticommunist law, the district court in Katowice agreed on maintaining the previous decision on discontinuation of the trial of members of the Communist Party of Poland and therefore the trial will start again 1,5 years from today. Proceedings of the case will continue in the regional court in Dąbrowa Górnicza.

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Abstract from the intervention of the Communist Party of Poland on the event organised for the 72nd anniversary of Great Antifascist Peoples' Victory in Berlin, 9-11 May 2017. 

"In Poland historical policy is closely associated with the rise of fascism. Allowance to equate communism with nazism and even maintain that it was worse leads to justifying and whitewashing fascism. Neo fascist organisations are on the rise and they attract mainly the youth, brainwashed during process of education. In recent elections most of the young people voted for the conservative and nationalist parties so it is clear that type of education influences political choices and is used by the capitalists to sustain their power. The neo-fascist National Radical Camp organises legally its marches. Recently it demonstrated in Warsaw its 83rd founding anniversary under protection of police removing anti-fascist blockade.

In Eastern Europe new generations are taught to follow the capitalism and not to defend their rights. Social consciousness is very low and various strategies are implemented to keep it this way. When history is rewritten it is also easier to persecute those who are dangerous to capitalists. In many countries such as Ukraine and Lithuania, new historical policy was made consecutively with ban of the communist activity. There are also attempts to delegalize communist parties in Poland. For one year and a half we have been facing the trial because new state policy treats Marxism-Leninism as totalitarism."