26.05.2017, Poland.
Press service of the Polish Sejm [the lower house of Poland’s parliament – Editor] reported on June 22 that it passed a law to demolish monuments to the Soviet soldiers who liberated the country, TASS Russian news agency reported.
The amendments to the country’s de-communization law say that monuments and other similar sites “cannot pay tribute to persons, organizations, events or dates symbolizing communism or other totalitarian systems” because it “negatively affects the society.” The law takes effect three months after its passage. Monuments that fall under the category of “glorifying totalitarianism” are to be demolished within 12 months. Memorials at cemeteries and other burial places, as well as monuments included in the registry of architectural monuments will not be demolished. Experts say there are around 250 of them are dedicated to the Red Army.
The Red Army lost about 477 thousand soldiers during the liberation of Poland from Nazi Germany. Nearly 6 million Polish citizens, or 1/5 of the country’s total population, died during the Nazi occupation.
In 1992 and 1994, the Russian Federation and Poland signed a number of agreements regarding memorials to Soviet soldiers. Therefore, the law passed today violates international norms.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
