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Myroslav Marynovych to Polish President: 'They aimed at you, Mr. President, but hit us'

15.07.2013, 15:43
Vice Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University Myroslav Marynovych has written a letter of apology to President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski for the incident, which occurred in Lutsk.

Vice Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University Myroslav Marynovych has written a letter of apology to President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski for the incident, which occurred in Lutsk.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski was in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk on Sunday to pay his respects to tens of thousands of his countrymen who were killed in an ethnic-cleansing operation by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II.

During a ceremony, a 21-year-old resident of the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia broke an egg on the Polish president's jacket. The attacker was detained after the incident and tested for drugs. So far, he has not tested positive for alcohol consumption. The reason for his prank has not been disclosed.

Please read the full text

Dear Mr. President!

The incident, which occurred in Lutsk after the memorial service, stirred up not only my conscience but the conscience of all people who value civilized relations between the Polish and Ukrainian peoples.

You came to our land as a pilgrim, who in prayer paid tribute to the victims of the fratricidal conflict. Pilgrims are to blessed and received kindly, not offended.

You delicately crafted the political focus of your visit to fulfill your civic duty to your people and at the same time not to hurt the feelings of the Ukrainian people. For this, one must be thanked and honored, not stained.

They aimed at you, Mr. President, but hit us.

For you, as someone who is imperturbable, it was enough to take off your jacket to eliminate the effects of the ill will. For us, the citizens of this country, to do away with the pretentiousness of our problems is much harder. Sorry that the side effects of this ostentation have touched you.

And for me and many of my fellow citizens, the underhand circumstances of the incident are clear. The stakes in this invisible game are high, and some players are losing their nerves.

However, the attack against you, though carefully disguised, only shows that your recognition of the European prospects of Ukraine is correct. Otherwise, the attackers would have just ignored you.

Thank you for your prayers, Mr. President. The offense only strengthened the effect of the prayers in God's eyes.

Thank you for your visit, from which only good will come.

Thank you for the lesson in dignity, from both a politician and a person.

And again—please forgive us.

 

Myroslav Marynovych,

Vice Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University,

Former prisoner of the Gulag