Episode 29
Poland Update – HIMARS & more – 9th May 2023
The president visited the UK, several tensions erupted between Russia and Poland, the parliament was busy with new proposals, Poland celebrated Constitution Day, and much more!
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Transcript
Let’s kick things off with foreign affairs…
Poland and the US continue to strengthen bilateral relations…
On Thursday, the 4th, Mariusz Błaszczak, the minister of defense, started his five-day tour to the USA. Błaszczak visited Lockheed Martin’s missile factory in Camden to hold talks with the executive team. He announced that Lockheed Martin is going to open a HIMARS, an artillery system, and a maintenance center for the system in Poland. As other European countries are also willing to buy the HIMARS system, the company will facilitate the transfer of the products by establishing a factory in the Poland
On the next day, Błaszczak also held diplomatic talks with Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense. They talked about further military cooperation, including strengthening NATO’s eastern flank. They also signed an agreement called reciprocal defense procurement, which aims to empower the two countries’ defense industries. Moreover, Austin promised that the US would provide Apache helicopters to Poland until it purchases its own helicopters.
The country also has good relations with the UK…
On Friday, the 5th, Andrej Duda, the Polish President, visited the United Kingdom to attend the coronation of Britain's King Charles III. After holding talks with the UK Prime Minister, the president attended the ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. The president sent a congratulatory letter to King Charles. In the letter, he also invited him to pay a visit to Poland.
Yet, when it comes to Russia, it’s a whole other story...
On Friday, the 5th, the Polish foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Poland to the ministry building. Last week, a senior Russian official made a controversial statement about the possible murder of the Polish ambassador to Russia after Poland seized a Russian school in the garden of the Russian embassy in Warsaw. In the summons, the foreign ministry urged the Russian ambassador to initiate urgent criminal proceedings against the official following his words.
Furthermore, the tension between the two countries continued with another incident…
On Sunday, the 7th, A Russian warplane approached a Polish patrol plane in the Black Sea. The state officials announced that the Russian air force prevented FRONTEX, the border guard department of the European Union, from conducting a mission over the Black Sea. A Russian fighter jet led a Polish border guard plane to lose altitude in a dangerous manner. Reporters stated that tension between the two countries has increased recently.
Reporters expect more tension at the beginning of the week because of Russian Victory Day…
ctory against Nazi Germany in:
On the same day, Krzysztof Sobolewski, a senior politician from the ruling party, said that Poland should expel the ambassador from the country. Sobolewski stated that the Russian victory at the end of World War II did not end the occupation of Poland. He claimed that Russian rule damaged the country even more than Nazi Germany.
That’s all for foreign affairs, now let’s look at the domestic sphere...
This week, the Sejm, the Polish Parliament, has been busy with proposed bills…
On Thursday, the 4th, reporters stated that the Sejm is preparing to accept a law against the ‘sexualization of children'. Debates about the issue started after a mother approached a state official about a situation where a teacher made his son dress like a girl for a class event. And just because of this, She expressed her worries and complaints about t ‘sexualizing the boy.’ Following the event, a committee called "Let's protect children, let's support parents" in the parliament now collects signatures to pass a law that will prevent ‘the sexualization of children’ According to the bill, parents will have full knowledge about the class events, and they will be able to decide if their children should attend the event or not.
In related news, the country's conservative ruling party declared they are in full support of the proposal , because it would “protect children”. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the party, stated that the Polish laws allow families to raise their children in line with Polish tradition.
The parliament will also evaluate a bill on the Constitutional Tribunal…
On Friday, the 5th, the ruling party submitted a proposal to change the structure of the Constitutional Tribunal amid the tension in the court. The proposal aims to reduce the number of judges in the General Assembly from fifteen to nine.Recently, seven judges of the tribunal refused to attend sessions in court as they protested against the president of the tribunal over claims of overstaying in office.
Speaking of political parties,
On Thursday, the 4th, Solidarna Polska, the coalition partner of the ruling party, organized an important conference to change its name to ‘Sovereign' Poland. The party of Zbigniew Ziobro, the controversial minister of justice, announced that it is adding Sovereign to its name to say no to those who try to deprive Poland of its sovereignty. Ziobro targeted the European Union and Russia in his speech. He said some names in the EU try to establish a federal state of Europe at the expense of the Polish national state, while Russia uses its hard power to deter Poland.
This week, the minister of education sparked off a debate...
On Thursday, the 4th, the faculty of Polish Studies at the University of Warsaw said that Przemysław Czarnek, the minister of education in Poland, tries to limit freedom of speech and scientific research. Previously, a Polish professor belonging to Warsaw University expressed that Jews were disappointed with the attitudes of Poles during the Second World War. As a reaction, Poland’s conservative ruling party took these words as an insult to the Polish nation. Czarnek, the minister, said that he will not fund institutions that insult the country. In return, Warsaw University said that it was an act against the freedom of academic research and freedom of speech.
In some tragic news…
On Tuesday, the 9th, the Upper Silesian Children's Health Center announced that a tortured eight-year-old child lost his life despite one month of intense care at the hospital. The death of a child named Kamil affected the Polish public deeply. In April, authorities reported that the father of Kamil tortured his son with boiling water, a hot stove, and cigarettes. Authorities took the son to the hospital while detaining the father and mother. The doctors announced that they did everything they could, yet they were not able to save the child. The incident caused nation-wide condemnation.
To end the update in a brighter note…
d marked Constitution Day. In:
Aaaand that's it for this week! Have you checked our website? It’s rorshok.com, over there you can find more about us, how to contact us, and support us
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