The European Union hates patriotism, which the EU labels nationalism. The European Union hates Belarus, which it regards as a dictatorship and Russia’s reliable ally. Belarus does not like the European Union because the European Union does not like Belarus. Up to now the distribution of political forces is clear, and yet…
…and yet the European Union, which dislikes Belarus, and Belarus, which dislikes the European Union, are in bed with each other when it comes to Poland: they both hate Polish patriotism, which they call – yes – nationalism.
For a few decades now 11 November – the Polish national holiday, the Independence Day – attracts tens – if not more – of thousands of people who march along the main streets in Warsaw, and also in other larger cities. It is not the so-called pride parade, which the EU would embrace wholeheartedly and consequently for which Poland would be praised to the skies. No, these are patriotic marches, waving thousands and thousands of Polish national flags with not a single flag of the European Union to be seen. These are the marches that exude intense patriotism, national pride, connection with the past, and national unity. These are the marches that defy the European Union. These are the marches that pose a threat to the European Union. Well, was it not in Poland where the collapse of the Soviet system began? Was it not in Poland where the nation’s patriotism coupled with the nation’s religiosity armed the people spiritually to defy both the local communist authorities and the Soviet Union as such? Is not not going to be Poland again that will disrupt the European Union from inside the way it disrupted the Eastern bloc four decades ago? So the EU fears and hates those marches and so do the EU’s political outposts operating in Poland, outposts rallying citizens of Poland who are, indeed, native speakers of Polish, but whose mentality is barely Polish. Those are the citizens who are rather ashamed of being Polish, citizens who would much rather be European than Polish, or cosmopolitan than Polish. These are the citizens who receive full backing from the European Union.
One might tend to think that if there are anti-EU forces within Poland, Belarus would be glad to make use of them. After all: the enemy (the patriotic share of the Polish nation) of my enemy (the European Union) is my ally. But no. Not in the least. Since Poland’s policy towards Belarus is not particularly friendly (which is putting it mildly), Minsk will not let any opportunity slip to have its political revenge. So the Belorussian mass-media comment the independence march taking place in Warsaw in just as unfriendly a way as the mass-media subordinated to the EU commissioners and ideologues. The Belorussian mass-media liken the Warsaw Independence Day marches to… fascist marches once practised in the Third Reich in the 1930s of the previous century. The vocabulary used to describe those Warsaw marches features such words and phrases as aggressive parades, torch-bearers, maddened crowds, nationalists who want to burn all that stands in their way. The listener can almost hear the word fascist or Nazi between the lines. No, these words are not spoken, but the selection of phrases along with the selection of shots from the streets do the job very well: the associations with the Third Reich marches complete with torches and flags springs to mind without fail.
To think of it: both the European Union, which dislikes Belarus, and Belarus, which dislikes the European Union, hate Polish patriotism and, as a result, use more or less the same vocabulary to give vent to their resentment against Polish national feelings. You might be beside yourself with wonder why Minsk does not see it fit to support forces in an EU member-state, forces that are potentially dangerous and disruptive for the integrity of the European Union. Has hatred towards Poland blinded the Belarus authorities? Yes, Poland is an easier target in comparison with the European Union, but at the same time the weakening of the EU’s integrity through Polish patriots and a possible future fragmentation or even dismemberment of the union is a much more ambitious and politically profitable aim, is it not? Anyway, if I were Belarus’s leader, I’d support the Independence Day marches in Warsaw and anywhere in Poland rather than taking exception to them.
