The disagreement between Poland and Lithuania is beneficial to Moscow
The Lithuania Tribune April 9, 2011 14:48
Who provokes the heat between Poles and Lithuanians? Who finds it beneficial? Mariusz Maszkiewicz, the first Poland’s representative in independent Lithuania in an interview with daily paper „Lietuvos rytas“ remembered not so old story and stated that he can envisage the hand of Moscow in this process. Waldemar Tomaszewski’s provocative statements, that not Lithuanian Poles have to integrate into Lithuania‘s society, but Lithuanians have to integrate to Poles community of Vilnius region, were ignored or taken as jokes by some politics, however others related it to possible activities of special foreign services, Alfa.lt portal writes on 8 April.
According to the diplomat, living in Warsaw, until quite recently history shows that one of the most important leverage that Russia uses to undermine both the independent states is the Polish minority in Vilnius region.
According to the diplomat, Lithuania‘s and Poland‘s relations were like a piece of meat which has been in freezer for 50 years and has frozen into the ice block and suddenly was taken out. Since the relations were not so good till that moment, the positive results were not achieved straight away.
He also states that Poland‘s elite wanted to have a good relationship with Lithuania, though they hesitated because were afraid of Moscow. What is more, M. Maszkiewiczius envisage that Vilnius region could become like an enclave – geopolitical wedge of Moscow. The same as Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia or Transnistria in Moldova are today. The autonomy of the region was possible, but since it has not gained any support from Poland, the Vilnius region Poles were too weak to realise their ambitions.
Nevertheless, the diplomat sees a lot of problems today concerning the Polish national minority however he advices to look at them and resolve them very carefully.
„The Poles in Vilnius region really have a lot of problems, which have to be solved. The problems like the spelling of surnames, the land reparation and education. However, it must be remembered that during the times of those sensitive issues times there were always some attempts from the outside to manipulate them. It is also possible that those attempts are still being made today. The younger generation of KGB officers, who came to power in Russia, attempt to follow their elder colleagues steps, don‘t they?“, – the diplomat stated to the daily newspaper.