POLAND AND RUSSIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25280, 17 July 1943, Page 4

POLAND AND RUSSIA

The loss to Allied councils and to the Polish people through the death by misadventure of General Sikorski, whose obsequies were ■ observed yesterday, is unquestionably ■ serious. . He .it was who rallied the scattered forces of Poland 'in the extreme hours of his country’s 'trial.;. He was recognised, furthermore, by all who came in close contact with him as being not only a Pole, but a citizen of that larger confederation of States which, it is hoped, will—in a form still to be' discovered—emerge from the present struggle. He recognised, in Mr Churchill’s words in a moving tribute, that in a partnership of the United Nations of the east and the west lay “ the surest hope of Poland’s speedy liberation and lasting greatness.” But if his death is a tragic loss to the Poles, it is most gratifying to observe that in the choice of successor—or Accessors, since the premiership and command of the forces are now l divided—those Poles who have freedom in exile from their unhappy homeland have been able to re-form the ranks of government with a unity which can be taken as a happy portent. The choice as Prime Minister of M. Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, who has been since 1939 the Peasant Party representative in the Polish Cabinet, serves, with other Cabinet changes, to. emphasise the broader concept of national life upon which Poland-in-exile is building for the future. This is a good portent, both because the Allied peoples will wish to see after the war the reconstruction of Poland under the principles of democratic control, and also because therein must lie the best chance of success in the fostering of Polish-Russian relations, which are very strained at present. Actually, General Sikorski was not, at the time of his death, altogether without hope of finding a means of mending the breach with the Soviet, but he had recognised, as all realists must recognise, that the trouble between Poland and Russia lies deeper than the affair of the alleged mass murder of Polish officers. That incident will probably be cleared up satisfactorily, and, indeed, may even now be on the way to settlement. The frontier question remains, however, a source of distrust and uncertainty. For the present the best that can be said is that Russia, while giving no indication of an intention to abandon the present frontier—settled upon in agreement with Nazi Germany—has denied imperialistic . aims towards Poland. M, Stalin’s statement in May, to a United States newspaper correspondent, that he desired to see a strong and independent Poland after the war, was made with emphasis, and his outline of the possible trend of future relations was upon the basis of “ solid .good-neighbourly relations and mutual respect.” This declaration does not imply an adjustment of difficulties •vhich it would be useless to gloss over, but it does suggest that* given goodwill and the tactful support of the Allies, Poland and Russia may find that as neighbours they are not as irreconcilable as may now appear.