Madam, - I have read with interest Lara Marlowe's interview with Ireland's Ambassador to France, published in The Irish Times on March 10th ("Envoy to Paris says France can learn from Irish example"). I was dismayed, however, by Ms Marlowe's opinion regarding Poland, not only because I cannot understand what relation it has with the subject of the article, but because it is unfair and over-simplified.
The President of France was one of the first world leaders who congratulated President Lech Kaczynski on his election and immediately invited the Polish President to France. The visit has taken place recently and can be regarded as a huge success, as it strengthened our bilateral relations and broadened our co-operation in many fields.
France is one of the most important partners of Poland - we share historical ties and many present interests. France is likely to agree on May 1st to open its labour market to some categories of Polish workers. Our so-called Weimar Co-operation (Poland-France-Germany) is thriving.
As far as Ms Marlowe's accusation, which was repeated in Dan McLaughlin's article (March 22nd) "For gays and lesbians Poland is like 1930s Germany", that the Polish President is a homophobe is concerned, let me state that the ban ogay and lesbian parades was given only in two Polish cities, either for procedural reasons or because of security concerns. In other cities the manifestations went ahead as planned.
The decision to ban parades is not taken on the governmental level - such matters, thanks to devolution, are solved by local authorities and the government cannot interfere with their decisions. We are sorry that during Poznan Parade some participants were injured in clashes with the police. The police knew that the parade was illegal, so they acted, as everyone must abide by the law. One must know all the facts and possess some firm documentation to present definite, objective and honest views.
There are independent institutions to clarify such matters, and they have acted. The detained persons from the parades were not prosecuted. The Polish authorities have never persecuted gay or lesbian communities - some politicians, though, question the usefulness of manifesting any sexual orientation publicly, as it is a private domain.
The present government attaches much importance to family values. I find the quotations from S. Niemiec's statements in Dan McLaughlin's article to be biased, unjust, to some extent absurd and similar to hate-speak - how can an objective person compare a democratic country, a victim of Nazi occupation and atrocities, with Hitler's rule and ideas?
My last remarks regard the Ambassador's view on "sharp collisions" of Poland with the EU. The EU is an organisation composed of sovereign states. Each member has the right to defend its interest. When it comes to qualified majority voting in the Council, the majority has its say; when it comes to unanimity, each state can block any proposition if it thinks it is detrimental to its interests.
We have also independent European institutions that can decide which side is in the right in case we have a dispute. We respect such arrangements, as they constitute a coherent and just system. Each country can defend its national interests, as have done Ireland and France many times, for which the elected governments have been undoubtedly praised by the citizens. The President of Poland is not a Euro-sceptic. He is a Euro-realist, which is crucial for the future of the EU, as recent referenda in France and the Netherlands clearly demonstrated. - Yours, etc,
WITOLD SOBKÓW, Polish Ambassador, Polish Embassy, Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4.