On September 12, the Slovak abroad Ministry rejected the presentation of the exhibition at the Russian discipline and Culture Centre in Bratislava, which depicts occupied Crimea as part of Russia and accuses Kiev and Europe of looting monuments. The hotel found the defence of border change by force unacceptable. For Poland this is an crucial signal: Russian propaganda must be answered clearly.
Slovak abroad Office makes it clear
Ministry of abroad Affairs and the European Slovak Republic stated on September 12 that it did not identify with the presentation and information shown at the exhibition at the Russian discipline and Culture Centre in Bratislava. The exhibition is entitled “Krymsk gold: “civilized” Europe robs Russian treasures”. This title itself imposes a ready verdict on the recipient. Russia is portrayed as a robbed victim, and the essential fact, namely the seizure of Crimea by force, disappears from the staff.
The Slovak ministry called public propaganda justifying the removal of territory to the sovereign state an unacceptable action. He recalled the 1975 United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. He besides stressed that Slovakia supports the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and does not recognise the Russian annexation of Crimea and another occupied areas in Ukraine.
This position deserves support. Political realism is not about accepting the language of a stronger state and pretending that aggression becomes legal after respective boards are suspended in the exhibition hall. Sovereignty is simply a rule which besides protects Poland. If borders can be moved by force, the safety of the countries of our region becomes the subject of a power market.
A dispute over monuments was settled by the court
Russian communicative omits the past of a collection called Crimean gold. It is about archaeological monuments loaned from museums in Crimea to the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam for an exhibition lasting from February to August 2014. Subjects left with the approval of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and the agreements were governed by Ukrainian law. During their stay in the Netherlands, Russia occupied Crimea. So a dispute arose to whom the collection should be returned.
The Dutch ultimate Court ruled June 9, 2023that an earlier decision ordering the transfer of monuments to the Ukrainian State remains in force. The court pointed out the legitimate interest of Ukraine in protecting its own cultural heritage. This was not a robbery carried out by an anonymous “Europe” but the result of a long-term proceedings before independent courts.
The exhibition in Bratislava reverses this order. The court's decision makes the communicative of the robbery, and the annexation of the territory removes the lawlessness. It's a known mechanism. Russian propaganda that blurs work for Moscow's actions: The legal dispute is replaced by emotional accusation, and the aggressor demands for himself the function of the victim.
Culture cannot be a cover for annexation
The Slovak Ministry of abroad Affairs recalled that cultural institutions should service common knowing and cooperation between nations. The Russian center did the opposite. It utilized monuments to tame the thesis that Crimea is Russian, and states respecting the judgement of the court participate in plunder. specified activities are not innocent cultural exchanges. It's a tool of political influence.
Poland should draw a applicable conclusion. Openness to culture does not mean helplessness to institutions that, under the name of discipline or art, justify changing borders by force. There is simply a request for transparency of funding, careful control of the activities of war-related centres and a fast diplomatic consequence to fraud.
Support to Ukraine's territorial integrity and non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea does not require the resignation of hard defence of Polish interests in another matters. On the contrary. A country that takes its sovereignty seriously must respect the same rule with its neighbours. Bratislava said simply and simply: propaganda does not invalidate the law.
Source: WP News, Ministry of abroad Affairs and the European Slovak Republic, ultimate Court of the Netherlands.
Source: WP News
