Ukraine will continue search for Volyn tragedy victims and awaits start of work in Poland, says head of memory institute

Oleksandr Alforov, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR), has emphasised that the search for burial sites of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy will continue, and he also hopes that the search for Ukrainian dead will begin in two villages in Poland. [The Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy was a series of events that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish and Ukrainian populations in 1943 during World War II. It was part of a long-standing rivalry between Ukrainians and Poles in what is now Ukraine's west. Poland considers the Volyn tragedy a genocide of Poles – ed.]

Source: Alforov in an interview with PAP, Poland's national news agency, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Alforov assured Poles that Ukraine recognises the Volyn tragedy, and that the search for victims and their reburial should remain an important element of the historical dialogue between Ukraine and Poland, so permits for such work will continue to be issued from the Ukrainian side.

Quote: "Regardless of the existing disputes, this work must continue. A deadlock on exhumation and search operations serves neither dialogue nor Christian ethics."

More details: Alforov also expressed hope that the Ukrainian side will be able to begin searching for the burial sites of Ukrainians killed during the Volyn tragedy in the villages of Sahryn and Laskiv, which are on Polish territory.

Quote: "I hope that despite the existing political differences, the Ukrainian side will be able to begin search operations, and perhaps exhumation work as well, in Sahryn and Laskiv this year, and that we will receive the relevant approvals from the Polish side."

Background:

• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in his address on the National Day of Remembrance for victims of the Volyn tragedy, stressed the need to maintain solidarity "based on truth, memory and hope", and said that memory cannot be a tool of hatred.
• Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has said Russia is seeking to stir up emotions surrounding historical disputes between Poland and Ukraine.

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