Here’s the actual text of point 13 of this resolution approved on Feb. 25 “[The European Parliament] deeply deplores the decision by the outgoing President of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko, posthumously to award Stepan Bandera, a leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists which collaborated with Nazi Germany, the title of National Hero of Ukraine; hope, in this regard, that the new Ukrainian leadership will reconsider such decisions and will maintain its commitment to European values.”
No inauguration with Moscow Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill and none of the appointments by President Victor Yanukovych shock anywhere near as much as this Bandera resolution. Obviously, this is my opinion, even though I am not a follower of Bandera or any other heroes or pseudo-heroes of that age.
I am a witness of Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev-Vladimir Putin regime, which is actively fighting against the Ukrainian language (through economic means, through books and the information market) and the Ukrainian church. All of this is happening in free and independent Ukraine.
But, at the same time, the deputies of the European Parliament – having no great knowledge of Ukrainian history – want to forbid us from having our own vision of our national past. The Russians are developing their own vision by creating a special federal committee. But at the same time, Ukrainians aren’t granted the right to have our own point of view. And if we do have it, it’s called fascism or Nazi collaboration.
After the European Parliament’s resolution, the revision of this award is inevitable – and not at the orders of Moscow, but following a recommendation from Europe.
There is no academic or social discussion about the ambiguity of certain historic figures. But there should be one.
No historic figure has only one side. They were only human and they had to act in complicated circumstances. Heroes of one nation are always criminals for another, and vice versa. But this does not mean that every nation does not have the right to create its own pantheon of national heroes.
Perhaps the Ukrainians should start by revising the roles of some Russian and Polish heroes? Many Ukrainians suffered from the Polish Armia Krajowa [the underground movement in Poland during World War II], just like many Poles suffered from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, known as UPA. Do the Ukrainian victims deserve mention and memory? We could initiate a resolution to revise those Polish state awards received by the veterans of Armia Krajowa.
But should we? Or should we just respect the historical memory of peoples of other nations?
The Bandera condemnation contains a lot of shocking things. The date of its release, Feb. 25, was the day of the new president’s inauguration. Also shocking is the contrast with the failed resolution condemning persecutions of the Poles in Belarus. It was shocking that Point 13 of the resolution on Bandera was authored by the Poles. In this case, Poland looks more like a prosecutor of Ukraine rather than its advocate.
Nobody can persuade me now that European leaders did not want Yanukovych as president. They must have wanted him to make sure that nothing stands on the way of their licking Russia’s natural gas pipes. When I say “nothing,” I mean Ukraine here.
The very same resolution confirms Ukraine’s right to apply for membership in the European Union and asks the Council of Europe to create a roadmap for a visa-free regime with Ukraine.
This is a pretty safe strategy for Europe. It came about long after the 2004 Orange Revolution, when its implementation was more likely, but on the day of Yanukovych’s inauguration, whose presidency makes extremely doubtful the possibility of required changes. As far as visas are concerned, Brussels with one hand writes joyful decrees on simplification of the visa regime, while with the other one actively strengthens the mighty Berlin Wall on its eastern borders.
This all looks too much like amputating someone’s legs and suggesting that they start running because it’s good for one’s health.
I am wondering if the European Parliament will rush to approve similar resolutions about the hanging of public portraits of Josef Stalin and campaigns to promote him in Moscow. Or are European values not getting violated in this case?
I am trying to remain an optimist. But at the same time I realize that a successful, effective and modern Ukrainian state is only in the interests of Ukraine itself. We’re on our own.
Iryna Magdysh is an editor of Ji magazine, www.ji-magazine.lviv.ua.
It is published in Lviv and specializes on cultural, political and philosophical issues. She can be reached at [email protected].
