Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk said that Poles in Ukraine are discriminated against in terms of religion, access to education in their native language, and freedom of speech.
He said this on Thursday, October 28, to the parliamentary commission on relations with Poles abroad, dziennik.pl reports.
According to him, "the position of Poles in Ukraine is changing for the worse due to objective and subjective factors."
One of the objective factors, according to Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, is the socio-economic situation that prompts Ukrainians of Polish origin to emigrate. According to him, many young Ukrainians in recent years have applied for Pole's Card, in order to receive the access to European education and the possibility to apply for Polish citizenship. The second reason is the coronavirus pandemic.
Turning to the subjective factors, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk named the Law on the language (which is unfavorable for minorities), the glorification of people associated with the Volyn tragedy, and the ban on the exhumation of Polish victims.
In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine categorically denies the allegation of Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk about the alleged “discrimination” of Polish people in Ukraine, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko has said.
"Use of such statements regarding the position of the Polish community in Ukraine is, to say the least, inappropriate. It misleads our societies, does not reflect the real state of friendly and partner relations between Ukraine and Poland," the Ukrainian MFA spokesperson said.
Nikolenko noted that the Foreign Ministry was surprised that this statement was made the day after a successful meeting in Warsaw of the advisory commission on meeting the educational needs of representatives of the Ukrainian minority in Poland and the Polish minority in Ukraine. According to him, the commission confirmed mutual understanding and mutual openness to constructive dialogue.
"We call on the Polish side to refrain from political assessments that are discordant with the real intentions and steps of the parties to strengthen the partnership between Ukraine and Poland in various fields," he said.