Lech Wałęsa: We need to stop fighting the past

In order to improve the Polish-Lithuanian relations we need to stop fighting the past, we need to start working towards the future – thinks Lech Wałęsa, the former president of Poland who won the Nobel Peace Prize. The politician was interviewed by the Lithuanian weekly magazine „15 min”.

„I have always thought about the Lithuanians as brothers. I don’t know what happened that the brothers started fighting. Despite everything we are stuck with each other. We live in one family, in one union, we need to understand that and try to remove all obstacles.” he said to Lithuanian journalists  Rimvydas Valatka and Virginijus Savukynas.

The former president admitted that the past of Poland and Lithuania is complicated. „That’s why the weaker activists instead of creating new programs and removing obstacles, fight the past, the agents. It’s the easiest way. It will be going on for some time, especially between the neighbours, however there are going to be people who will start working for today and tomorrow and they will leave history for the historians.” said Lech Wałęsa.

He added that the way to improve the neighbourly relations is to force people who ‘rub salt into the historical issues” out of the political scene.

„If every one of us said: this is old news, you are talking nonsense, then these people would quicker disappear into the shadow.” thinks the former president of Poland.

Source: http://zw.lt/litwa/lech-walesa-trzeba-przestac-walczyc-z-przeszloscia/

Tłumaczenie by Justyna Kaczmarek w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Justyna Kaczmarek within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.