EDITORIAL: "Memory, sorrow, unity" (07/27/03)

EDITORIAL

"Memory, sorrow, unity"

During the last two weeks this newspaper has reported on moves toward reconciliation between two neighboring countries, Ukraine and Poland, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of what has been referred to as the Volyn tragedy - the killings of more than 100,000 people of both nations at the time of Nazi and Soviet invasions and occupations during World War II.

First came the adoption by the Parliaments of Ukraine and Poland of a joint resolution on the bloody events of 1943-1944, condemning the "terror, violence and cruelty" of both sides during that period. Tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians and Poles were killed in fighting by armed groups, including the Polish Armija Krajowa (AK) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). "Let the ability to forgive become the foundation of our future good-neighborly relations and Ukrainian-Polish friendship," the resolution stated.

"The tragedy of the Poles, who were killed and forced from their homes by armed Ukrainian formations, was accompanied by similar suffering by the peaceful Ukrainian population, who were victims of actions by armed Poles," the resolution explained.

Then came a solemn ceremony held in the village of Pavlivka, in the Volyn region of Ukraine, where Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Aleksander Kwasniewski called for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation between the two proud nations - neighbors who have a shared history that has both high and low points. They attended memorial services and presided at the unveiling of a monument to the victims of the World War II-era fighting inscribed with the words "Memory, sorrow, unity."

"We cannot change this history, nor can we question it. We cannot silence it, nor excuse it. Instead we need to find the courage to accept the truth, to call a crime a crime inasmuch as only with respect for the truth can we build the future," the two presidents said in their joint statement issued on the occasion. For, as noted in the earlier joint resolution adopted by the Sejm and the Verkhovna Rada, "Painful experience should serve for us as a source of reflection on the fact that hatred and conflicts between us were exploited by our opponents, with the result that we always were the losers."

Today - free of outside interference and subjugation by foreign forces - the two freedom-loving nations can live in "peace and harmony" as encouraged by Pope John Paul II in his July 7 message to the Ukrainian and Polish people, and proceed to "build a future founded on mutual respect, brotherly cooperation and genuine solidarity" as underscored by Presidents Kuchma and Kwasniewski.

The reconciliation taking place 60 years after the Volyn tragedy, we believe, is a historic step that surely will pave the way for Ukraine and Poland to move forward as honorable partners in the international arena and as valued actors in global affairs.

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