Poland Bans Ukrainian Music Band due to Security Concerns

The Ukrainian community in Poland expresses disapproval of Polish border guards’ decision to ban entry of Ukrainian music band Ot Vinta as they claimed that the music band’s activity allegedly "threatens national security and public order," head of the Association of Ukrainians in Poland Piotr Tyma commented on his Facebook page.

Tyma reminds that Ot Vinta was expected to perform in Warsaw during the Plac Defilad festival on July 3. The band is quite famous in Poland, where it has performed over 20 concerts. He goes on that Ot Vinta was banned from performing on July 2 at a festival in the eastern Polish city of Przemyśl organized by the Ukrainian community, because the musicians were accused of ‘promoting Bandera ideology.’

The Ukrainian community believes such a decision was provoked by anti-Ukrainian hysteria whipped up in Polish society recently. "We are concerned with aggressive actions directed against Ukrainians in Poland," the statement reads.

"Last year, some ‘unidentified’ persons destroyed a number of Ukrainian monuments in Poland, including monuments in a military cemetery in Pikulychi which are protected by law," Tyma reminds.

Someone wants to disrupt Ukraine-Poland relations, provoke permanent tension, he claims. The statement also hints that the new attack against Ukrainians aims at intervening in Ukraine-NATO relations on the eve of the NATO summit in Warsaw on July 8-9.

Ukrainians in Poland call on the Polish authorities not to provoke further tensions with measures such as banning the entry of musicians.

Source: European Pravda