Two US Congressmen Express Concern Over 'Corrosion of Polish Democracy' - Letter

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st August, 2019) Poland must address the troubling rollbacks in its democracy that threaten to undermine the country's democratic credibility, US Congressmen Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul said in a letter to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Friday.

"We cannot ignore the corrosion of Polish democracy," the letter said. "The curtailing of judicial independence and politicization of the judiciary, attacks on freedom of speech - such as laws that ban reference to some Poles' complicity in the Holocaust - and purposeful assaults on Polish minority groups' freedoms are examples of eroding democratic principles that threaten to undermine all of the sacrifices Poles have made to build a modern, democratic Poland.

"

Engel and McCaul, who both serve on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said they also are concerned about steps by the Polish government to consolidate its control of public broadcasters and direct public funds to pro-government media outlets.

"Our concern stems from the belief that the restriction of freedom of speech, historical reflection, and assaults on core democratic tenets undermines Poland's democratic credibility," the lawmakers said.

The letter, which was sent on August 29, comes ahead of the Vice President Mike Pence's trip to Warsaw this weekend.