Może ktoś spoza Polski będzie zainteresowany tym co sie tutaj dzieje...

    There are two different tendencies that can be distinguished on Polish political scene in the last two years. Members of marginalized social groups has exercised democratic right to express their views and demanded equal treatment. It evoked the protest of majority that is certain there is only one “proper” face of the Polish nation and it cannot encompass and approve what is commonly perceived as immoral. To this disagreement on the country level add the directives from European Union, which Poland has become a member of.  If the majority enjoys the economical profits it brings, they perceive with reservation and ambiguity the attempts of imposing values and judging Polish society. This essay claims that the European Union institutions do not have appropriate administrative tools to successfully implement laws and directives based on its ideological founding. It argues that the European Union democracy is in the deficit and it cannot help to resolve problems of suppressed local minority groups. The solution seen for Poland is the open society that can practically utilize diversity that link creativity and economic success.

Homophobia is a social phenomenon with a long history in Poland. It signifies a fear of sexual minorities. In a catholic country like Poland homosexuality has always been a taboo issue. Under the communist government with its ubiquitous censorship homosexuality did not exist officially, except a few notices in encyclopedias and handbooks as a form of sexual deviation and sexual or gender identity disorder. Lesbians lived lives full of frustration and gay men stepped down into the social underground. The change of political system did not automatically meant salvation of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, though it started the process of establishing grassroots organizations and claiming for equal rights.

The problem of a weak voice of Polish LGBT community and its almost complete invisibility in social life is inextricably linked to the strength of the Catholic Church position and omnipresent attitude of intolerance, xenophobia and fear of the other among Polish society. For LGBT movement, which lacked political strength, the accession of Poland to the European Union meant undoubtedly a great hope for the future in terms of raising awareness and social tolerance. And as for Polish nationalists, it meant a great fear of joining the “rotten”, demoralized civilization of western countries.
 

After the collapse of the communist regime in 1989 Poland started quickly developing democratic institutions and making up economic differences. Political parties were growing in numbers and power. Some of them turned out to be ephemeral formations; others were able to win elections only to gradually loose electoral support during the time of being at the top. Polish democracy is still young and the kaleidoscopic changes on political scene show that Polish society does not trust its political elite. While the difficult negotiations before the access to the European Union were the job of social-democrats, the actual accession and cooperation with the EU became the task of the right-wing Law and Justice party and nationalists from the League of Polish Families and the Self-defense. If social-democrats did not seem to have specific political program and cared rather for how not to loose the power, right-wing politicians are openly devoted to change the country to the kind of an authoritative regime. They stress religious and nationalist values and try to reform educational system as well as to introduce fundamental changes to the Constitution.

Poland does not recognize gay and lesbian relationships. In 1997 Article 18 has been introduced to the Polish Constitution stating that, “Marriage is the relationship between man and woman”. Prepared a few years later draft of the bill of partnership did not pass in the Parliament. The next one proposed by Professor Maria Szyszkowska in 2003 gained the approval of the Senate but ones again lost in the Parliament (Sytuacja prawna, 2006, para. 1).

Becoming a new member of the European Union in May 2004, Poland has been obliged to sign official documents reassuring protection of human rights. Article 13 of the Treaty establishing European Community “invests the Community with the power to adopt measures to combat discrimination and to promote the principle of equality”. European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms obliges member states to guarantee all individuals the enjoyment of their human rights without discrimination on the basis - among others - of sexual orientation (Article 14). The Council Directive Establishing a General Framework for Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation (2000) gives a person who faces discrimination at work the right to sue an employer (Article 2). In 2004 the European Parliament strengthen its position in the fight against discrimination and included “guaranties for the freedom of movement of Union citizens and their family members and registered partners of either gender” (Proposal, 2004, para. 1b), which means that if two lesbians register their relationship in Denmark it should be officially recognized in Poland. There is still no local law in Poland protecting such rights.

At the time of the UE expansion the situation of sexual minorities in new member countries was described in the ILGA (International Lesbian and Gay Association) of Europe report issued in 2004 (Meeting the Challenge, 2004, chap. 13). The data obtained in social survey indicated that discrimination affects every aspect of the respondents’ life. The authors of the report recommended the European Commission to include projects of LBGT organizations in the Equal funds. These opportunities of funding should be advertised to those of interest and ensured that the member states were not discriminatory in selecting funding applications. In 2006 on the Polish Equal program Internet site still there is no information about any funds available for organizations acting against discrimination on the base of sexual orientation (Inicjatywa, 2006).

Following the requirements of the European Union Poland introduced the amendment to the Labour Code entitled Equal treatment in employment, which forbids discrimination based on sex, age, disability, race, religion, political opinion, trade union membership, ethnic origin, belief or sexual orientation (Pogodzińska 2004, p. 1). Also in 2004 the Government Plenipotary for Equal Status of Women and Men extended its competences to issues related to discrimination not only on the basis of sex but also on grounds of sexual orientation. The Plenipotary’s department sponsored Let Them See Us campaign, Culture for Tolerance festival in Kraków in 2004 and other initiatives.

It seemed that Poland was on the right way to fully comply with EU directives slowly introducing anti-discriminatory law at work and launching public campaigns. Yet at the same time, the year of 2004 witnessed unprecedented homophobic incidents on Equality Marches organized by LGBT organizations. Only a week after joining the UE participants of the March for Tolerance in Kraków were attacked by a group of nationalist activists, who assaulted demonstrator and threw eggs and stones at them. The sad thing is that the police was unable to isolate the attackers or give the peaceful demonstration the appropriate protection. The march stirred unrest and gave rise to further actions from right-wing politicians. The mayor of Warsaw refused to grant permission to the Parade of Equality in Warsaw due to the security issues. Instead, more than thousand people gathered in the demonstration for freedom on the square at the town hall. The same story as in Kraków repeated in Poznań in November 2004. The participants of the Equality March were attacked with eggs, oranges and stones by football fans and All Polish Youth activists (Zielińska, 2005, p. 5).

All of these events were nothing more than the overt acts of discrimination. In the next year the March for Tolerance in Kraków and the Equality March in Warsaw were banned. Even though the infringement on civil rights seemed to be drastic, there was no reaction of  EU institutions. In the history of the EU only once diplomatic sanctions have been imposed on a member state. It was in 1999 when the extreme right-wing party joined the Austrian government. The EU then stopped bilateral relations with Austria. Although the sanctions were more symbolic than practical they stirred wide criticism throughout Europe. Probably, the obvious inadequacy and ineffectiveness of such practices discouraged the European Parliament of utilizing them in the future.

This may explain why the EU did not immediately react when right-wing, nationalist and openly homophobic politicians gained power in Poland. Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, after assuming the position of Prime Minister, officially announced homosexuality as unnatural. If a homosexual “tries to infect others with his homosexuality, then the state must intervene in this violation of freedom” and “no tolerance for homosexuals and deviants”, he declared. Then he abolished the office of the Government Plenipotary for the Equality of Men and Women (Ireland, 2005a). The British newspapers The Guardian suggested, this might be a moment when the EU would suspend Poland in its member’s rights (Watt, 2005). But Javier Solana quickly corrected in Rzeczpospolita that “there will be no sanctions imposed on Poland” (Bielecki and Haszczyński, 2005). He seemed to be very sure and undisturbed by the fact that the mayor of the city of Poznań banned Equality March in November 2005 due to “security concerns”. Although the organizers (LGBT and feminist organizations) already changed the route of the march as was required, the mayor, Ryszard Grobelny, kept his ban and maintained that the demonstration was illegal. People who gathered in order to support the ideas of diversity and tolerance were attacked by the All Polish Youth with slogans like “lets gas the fags” and “we will do with you what Hitler did with Jews”. The police intervened at the end of the demonstration in order to disperse it. They roughly handled some individuals, arrested and interrogated 68 people (mostly the participants of the peaceful demonstration), who were later released (Ireland, 2005b).

Members of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights issued the statement expressing their concerns that the situation in Poland is tolerated within the UE (New Kind, 2005). Baroness Sara Ludford, the British Liberal Democratic Party’s European Justice spokeswoman in the EuroParliament at Strasbourg criticized UE policy of condemning repressive and intolerant behavior only when it takes place in countries that are not members of the EU(Ireland, 2005b).

Also Polish courts suffered a kind of helplessness similar to this presented by the UE. In 2005 Dorota Ekes publicly called on to ban homosexuals from teaching in schools. The court announced that she did not defame gay people, but when Robert Biedroń, president of the Campaign Against Homophobia called her statement a part of fascist-nationalist-catholic battue on LGBT communit,y the court needed only twelve days to sentence him. Also when Krystian Legierski, called by the right-wing politician a “half-Pole” because of his skin colour, turned with a complain to the Parliamentary Commission of Ethics he obtained no answer. Then a couple of lesbians sued two members of the Right and Justice party for comparing homosexuality with necrophilia and zoophilie. The court decided that such a comparison is quite natural for public opinion in Poland so there is no ground for conviction (Majewska, 2005). The organizers of the Equality Parade forbidden by the mayor of Warsaw in 2005 tried to seek justice in court. In August 2005 the Self-Governmental Appeals Court repealed the ban, for formal reasons (Szypula, 2005).

On 18 January 2006 European Parliament issued the resolution on homophobia in Europe. First of all it gave the definition of homophobia and condemned hatred and cases of violent attacks on LGBT people. It urged the member states to fight homophobia through education campaigns in schools and in the media, as well as through administrative means. It also urged the Commission to consider the use of criminal penalties in cases of violation of human rights. There was also was a strong reminder of the member states commitment to EU convetions (European Parliament Resolution, 2006, p. 2, 3). Some of Polish MEPs called the discussion in European Parliament “hysterical” and a “waste of time”. Whereas UK MEP, Michael Cashman, emphatically expressed his frustration that even though in October 2004 President Barroso promised a directive against discrimination, in two years he have not seen any proposals and no actions (Polish MEP Says, 2006)

While the politicians debated in Strasbourg, in Poland the Campaign All different – all equal initiated by the Council of Europe and addressed to young people has been implemented in a very specific, “Polish” way. The Ministry of Education, which was in charge of the Campaign, decided that the word “equal” has been “hackneyed” and boring, and worse still, it is automatically associated with Equality Parades. It decided to change the motto to “All different – all in solidarity we stand” and instead of promoting classic human rights focus on provision of social help to young people living in rural areas (Siedlecka, 2006).

Apparently Polish politicians do not care for European Parliament resolutions, which may also seem to be too broad or superficial to be treated as binding recommendations. Just a month before the date when usually Equality Parades takes place in Warsaw, Wojciech Wierzejski, a member of the League of Polish Families, announced, “if deviants begin to demonstrate, they should be hit with batons”. Poland’s state prosecutor’s office issued a letter to all prosecutors in the country to examine the sources of financing of lesbian and gay organizations and their alleged connections with the underworld, including pedophile groups and drug dealers. The allegation was based on the letter sent by Mr. Wierzejski to the Ministry of Justice (Sobczyk, 2006).

In 2006 European Parliament celebrated May 17, announced as the International Day Against Homophobia, with a seminar devoted to discussion about recent acts of discrimination based on sexual orientation in Europe. Some of MEPs called on for action and better legislation (Seminar Sends, 2006). Already quoted at the beginning, secretary general Terry Davis, assured: “If mentality cannot change overnight, official attitudes and laws can, and must, when the protection of the most basic human rights are at stake” (Davis, 2006).

Also in May 2006 Roman Giertych, a leader of the League of Polish Families and the mentor of All Polish Youth, has been assigned to a position of the Minister of Education. One of his first steps was accusing the Campaign Against Homophobia organization of wasting money provided by the European Commission Youth Program and the prior Minister of Education. When it turned out to be untrue, because the money was spent on the educational program called Do We Need Gender, Roman Giertych declared that the rules of such programs should be changed, because gay organizations should not get money in the future (Ireland, 2006, p. 3). His next action was sending out official letter to schools stating that they should not allow any meetings with LGBT organizations. Then he dismissed the director of the government agency, which issued the Compass manual for schools sponsored partly by the Council of Europe. Reportedly, the Minister objected to the Compass chapter on homosexuality and homophobia.

In the course of time the events of open homophobia became more frequent in Poland. As for the Minister of Education it seems that he openly disregards European Union’s instructions and followed his own policy, which tells him that for the sake of children he should prevent any action complying with UE directives. His attitude did not come unnoticed by the European Parliament, which issued Resolution on the Increase in Racist and Homophobic Violence in Europe on 15 June 2006. This time it did not only included general condemnation of discrimination and xenophobia in Europe. The document denounced the acts of the League of Polish Families members openly inciting people to hatred and violence against LGBT community. It also pointed out to the possibility of imposing sanctions on Poland in the case of non-compliance.

The article by Terry Davis, quoted at the beginning of this essay, shows deep helplessness of the European Union institutions. The Polish Parliament issued its own resolution in which it expressed its outrage at the unjust accusations of the European Parliament. It called them a bad will and lack of objectivism. It also expressed its disapproval for introducing into European documents the term of homophobia. The Polish Parliament claims that Poland supports Christian values and may serve as an example of tolerance and respect for human rights for the rest of Europe (Uchwała Sejmu, 2006)  At the meeting in Brussels with the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso, the Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński called allegations of homophobia in Poland a myth and propaganda disseminated by the media. He assured that there are many books published about gay people in Poland and clubs where they can meet. In his opinion, there are many high ranked politicians in Poland who are gay men (Grew, 2006).

The last proposal which the European Parliament has come out with was the announcement of the year 2007 the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is responsible of granting funds for competing projects. Although this may mean a great opportunity for non-governmental organizations to obtain money for their anti-discriminatory actions, the great obstacle is that the EU covers only half of the costs (Konkurs na dotacje, 2006). There is a possibility to get the second half from the government but it is doubtful that a right-wing politicians would like to support a campaign against homophobia

All in all, the exchange of resolutions may go endlessly. The attitudes are strong and the voices are heard but not listen to. Today’s political class in Poland believes in different moral standards than Western European countries. Although the political system is democratic in Poland, the ruling class is leaning towards a kind of an authoritative regime. Authoritative societies base their knowledge on tradition, common believes and religion. This is what the League of Polish Families represents. They do not trust empirical, scientific knowledge. Under the authoritative regime people usually act not because they are forced to obey but because they believe something is the right thing to do. The law mirrors what is seen as moral and proper and leaders usually have authoritative power and paternalistic manner of ruling. As the norms and standards are obvious and unique the discussion over the different opinions seems to be unnecessary (Rummel, 1997).

Terry Davis is right that there are certain values commonly embraced by democratic societies but firstly not all democratic countries would chose exactly the same set of values and secondly these values may be differently understood from country to county. Some theorists agree that there is a deficit of democracy within Europe. There are two main conceptions on the origin of this deficit. One is based on the assumption that though the union of European countries originated from the strengthening of economical bounds, it then exceeded practical grounds, constructed new institutions and elaborated laws regulating many domains of people’s lives. The aim is to build pan-European democracy that would resemble national democracies in the member countries. EU institutions issue conventions of fundamental rights and try to introduce a common constitution. The discrepancy between local democracies and what the EU politicians try to build results from the wrong assumption that there exists a consensus on what kind of values and ends the European community support. The local contemporary democracies overcome this problem allowing a certain degree of reasonable disagreement that is resolved during the discussion or in the court. For people who know that local politics would affect their live it is better to agree to some decisions they dislike and accept the view of the majority than to have no decision. Such kind of democratic mechanism cannot work in Europe because the European identity has not yet been sufficiently developed. Every country has its own language and specific culture. UE directives and offices are perceived as distant, impersonal and very hard to relate to (Bellamy, 2004, chap. I, II, III).

The second stance maintains that the complicated reality of the UE should not be governed on the base of idealistic assumptions but with the help of specialists who have wider knowledge in certain fields than politicians and simple citizens. The government cooperating with specialists who work on solving problems and finding the best solutions became the trademark of modern democracy but may be differently function at the EU level. If there is still no perception of common European interest and shared identity the plentiful complicated directives aiming to regulate so many aspects of local communities life may be sensed as rather constraining than revealing, very technocratic and distant (Bellamy, 2004, chap. I, IV).

The brought above arguments may to some extend explain why the ultimate consensus between the Polish government and EU politicians is not likely to be achieved soon. The idea of tolerance for different minorities as a sign of respect for human rights has to be embraced by a society and not imposed from the top. So it is hard to predict, whether European politics may help to alleviate the tensions between nationalists and LGBT groups in Poland or on the contrary, only to inflame it. As definition of the term says, homophobia is the irrational fear of the unknown. For nationalists homosexuals are immoral deviants posing the threat to traditional family. Polish “tolerant” society is not willing to open for variety of other cultures, ethnicities or eccentric behaviors. What differentiates it from open western democratic countries is the principle that diversity and pluralism may be a positive factor contributing to economic success. But for achieving it not only tolerance is needed but also friendly interest and openness for new trends and ideas. If new innovative ideas are to be born education, economic stability and intelligence are not enough. Diversity brings new points of view, different perspectives and experiences. In the contemporary world a society needs not only to be diligent and economical. To make progress it needs to be creative and creativity cannot be achieved without openness to new and unknown challenges. Richard Florida proposed so called Gay Index standing for the number of gay men and women not hiding their sexual orientation. If the index is high it means that a society is tolerant and open. The open society is likely to attract and accept public functioning of creative individuals and thanks to it grow new ideas and accelerate their progress (Bendyk, Żakowski, 2005). The open question remains whether Poland is ready for it.

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