On 15 October a demonstration of respective twelve Ukrainians took place in front of the Polish embassy in Brussels, who demanded compensation for alleged crimes of Poles against the Ukrainian people from the interwar and postwar period.
The event was organised by the European Galicia association with Vitalijam Machinko At the head.
German Galicia?
Machinko presents as a human rights defender and union activist. On his authoritative website, we read that he was the founder and remains president of the trade union Solidarity of Labour, to defend Ukrainian workers from abuses in European Union countries, including Poland. In our country, he was to make a foundation and non-governmental structures for this purpose. He besides organised the first strike of Ukrainian workers abroad.
Recently published text, in which he accuses Poland of imperialistic urges, pointing to fresh disputes around Ukrainian grain imports. At the same time, he argues about Ukraine's conventional relationships with Germany: “Poland’s rhetoric on Ukraine’s relation with Germany is peculiarly crucial erstwhile we remind that part of Ukraine and Galicia itself have been part of ‘German cultural space’ for centuries. These historical unions were destroyed by Poles who occupied the territory of Galicia and Lodomeria”.
Injuries for Bandera
Participants of the picket demanded Poland to compensate, among others, for the action “Wisła”, the deficiency of granting autonomy to the east Galicia in the interwar years (they say that this autonomy was to be due to global obligations) and “criminal” committed on the Ukrainian population in Galicia.
Machinko issued Poland a symbolic bill for alleged historical harm. “We defend ourselves from the “older brother” not to have a “older sister” who will dictate to us what we are to apologize for, who we are to be friends with, and who to consider a national hero” – stated, seemingly referring to Polish reservations about heroics Stiepan Bandery and another criminals from the ranks of Ukrainian nationalists.
AD
