On Wednesday evening, the news website Onet.pl reported that the Polish Military Police detained three soldiers who fired warning shots at the advancing refugees. At the turn of March and April, near the town of Dubicze Cerkiewne, Polish soldiers fired warning shots when a group of migrants crossed the fence. Three servicemen were detained. Two of them were charged with creating a threat to bystanders.
There were hysterical comments from Polish politicians:
“The conduct of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Military Police towards our soldiers raises justified concern and anger among people. I expect quick conclusions and organizational, legal and personnel decisions”, said neoliberal center-right Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“As for the detention, as it is something that outrages both me and the public opinion, it is a decision strictly made by the Military Police (…) I think it was overzealous, the commission appointed by the Military Police will explain it. If anyone has exceeded the authority, he will be punished. (…) Soldiers on the border can use weapons. These regulations are clearly defined, although, in my opinion, they require changes”, said Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
Members of the former conservative-populist government chimed in. “The message went to the media: the soldiers are to blame. I wonder what Poles will say about this ‚sentence’ of Donald Tusk. Will Bodnar’s bloody prosecutor’s office now accuse people defending the Polish border? Disgrace,” former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was hysterical.
The “left-wing” government coalition partners cooled down the general emotions:
“I encourage everyone to keep perspective. These matters need to be clarified,” said Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty, adding after a moment – “where there is a need to change the law, it should be changed.” So: check if the soldiers broke the law, and if they did – change the law to accommodate them.
Left MP Anna Maria Żukowska was closest to a sane position: “Soldiers do not have the right to shoot at will when they are not at war.” Technically, soldiers do not have the right to shoot at will, even when they ARE at war, but Żukowska, as a proud Zionist, could not have known that…
The political meaning of this hysteria must be understood in context.
Based on the regulation of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, a partial stay ban will soon come into force in some areas of the border zone with Belarus. The restrictions will affect 27 registration districts located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, including 26 in Hajnówka County and one in Białystok County. The ban will apply for 90 days from the regulation’s entry into force.
When announcing the introduction of the stay ban, Donald Tusk indicated that a buffer zone approximately 200 meters wide would be established. After converting government units into metric units, the result was approximately 5 kilometers. Some people emphasize that the government’s actions are similar to those of the previous government, when it announced a state of emergency in the border areas in 2021.
The message is clear. First, before Sunday’s European elections, all political forces assure us of their support for Fortress Europe, of their readiness to both enforce the EU immigration policy and of their commitment to inter-imperialist war.
Secondly, all political forces declare to the military – everything is allowed, there are no red lines, do not hesitate. All of this under the banner of fighting a “hybrid war”, i.e. an alleged war with Russia and Belarus combining conventional combat with other, non-military means. This gives an excuse to frame every political issue as a hostile act that must be responded to by military means – all political issues become military issues. “Hybrid warfare” is a watchword of stealth militarization of public life, of hollowing out of bourgeois democracy, of its decay.
The only possible struggle for democracy is struggle against the repressive bourgeois state and against the mode of production that it defends. The only future for democracy is socialism.
June 6, 2024
VOLLHANDFRÜHLING 