"We have to be tough with Russia", Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski tells the weekly Newsweek.
Weekly press reviewed by Krysia Kolosowska.
Asked why he got so strongly engaged on the Georgian side in the conflict with Russia, the President says it is a conflict between two states, one of which, having prevailing military power, wants to teach the other one a lesson, striving not only to change its policy but also its government. The victim of aggression is a country which undertook to build sovereignty and democracy, which wants to enter our political and cultural sphere. The aggressor, that is Russia, does not accept democracy as we understand it, it also has enormous difficulties in accepting the sovereignty of its weaker neighbors. These difficulties are a part of our historic experience, which is already three centuries old, President Kaczynski told Newsweek.
In its comment column, Newsweek says that the Polish-American pact, that has been sealed, on the installation of part of the US anti-missile system on Polish soil, has gained a symbolic dimension. Russian strategists, who wanted to punish Georgia, seem not to have foreseen that they will encourage the West to close its ranks.
While the West lacks statesmen like Reagan or Kohl, the reverse is true in Russia: instead of weak Gorbachov, Russians have Putin, says the weekly Wprost in an article which likens Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Hitler. Russian rulers have always used the army to conquer non-Russian territories and then to sell raw materials from subjugated countries to the rich. When Georgian oil pipelines, which were to be an element of a system making Europe independent of Russian oil, are rendered inoperative, Russian monopoly on oil and gas supplies to Europe will be strengthened. If Russia succeeds in installing a puppet government in Georgia, one can expect that next it will turn its attention to Ukraine. There is no doubt that Poland’s turn will come sooner or later, says Wprost in a grim prediction.
Russia – do we have to be afraid of it – asks the weekly Polityka. It writes that through its intervention in Georgia Russia has sent a signal to the world that ex-Soviet republics in the Caucasus should not want to get close to America. Developments in Georgia have also shown clearer than before that the West painfully lacks a sensible policy towards new Putin’s Russia. One can observe roughly three kinds of approach. The USA is trying to include Moscow into the trans-Atlantic orbit, but is competing fiercely with it on the political and economic scene. Germany and France prefer to do business with Russia, hoping that security will come later thanks to multilateral links. Poland and other ex-Soviet satellites opt for a careful approach to business with Russia, reminding at the same time of Soviet crimes and warning the West against Russian expansion. Polityka says in conclusion that Russian foreign minister is to come to Warsaw in September. Poland is a part of the West today and – considering its past experience – should help shape the eastern policy of the EU and NATO. We can fight against Russia’s imperial aspirations more effectively in Berlin, Paris, Brussels and Washington than in Tbilisi, says Polityka.
Tygodnik Powszechny, too, blames the EU for failure to forge a coherent policy towards Russia. True, the old EU countries experienced disenchantment with Russia but this did not translate into a plan of action. The EU has no policy towards Russia. Meanwhile, a political game over Georgia, as well as Ukraine, is only now beginning. The Russian policy of accomplished facts will be a test for the USA and the EU, says Tygodnik Powszechny.
Solidarnosc says the entire Solidarity trade union is bracing up for a demonstration in Warsaw on August 29th. The demonstration is to show that unless the government and employers start to comprehend the role of employees in the modern economy, Poland will be on the losing end. Solidarity chairman Janusz Sniadek tells the weekly that employees are the biggest asset of the Polish economy. A condition of economic growth is investment in human resources. The trade union is campaigning for decent wages, proper legal protection of work, training and social benefits – all this reflects on the quality of life. There are too many examples, however, that the government and employers do not perceive these problems, says Solidarnosc.
Przekroj hopes that an early warning system about tornadoes will become operational in Poland in the near future. Polish Storm Hunters, a group of enthusiasts of violent rain and wind, will be its backbone. They are increasingly cited by the mass media – especially in August, when destructive rainstorms happen most often. Until recently, the storm hunters in Poland were ignored by professional weather experts but this has been changing since the state weather institute declared cooperation with them. The Polish Storm Hunters Organization was created in April 2006 and groups mainly young people – from students through firemen and film makers to businessmen. Their expertise is all the more welcome as tornadoes and violent thunderstorms, once rare in Poland, are expected to hit this country more and more often.