Polish Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz commented on the words of Polish movie director Agnieszka Holland. In an interview for the popular Polish YouTube TV channel Kanał Zero, Holland said that Polish Border Guards and military officers are engaged in the “maltreatment and beating” of Middle Eastern migrants at the Polish-Belarusian border. Polish Defence Minister called those words “unacceptable”.
During a two-and-a-half-hour interview with Polish journalist Robert Mazurek, film director Agnieszka Holland discussed her movies, personal beliefs, and current affairs.
She was also asked about her opinion of the conduct of the Polish officers at the Polish-Belarussian border, where the Russian and Belarusian services transport migrants from the Middle East and Africa to create disruption.
“These people are beaten and maltreated. What do you call maltreatment? They are beaten, laid on the ground, attacked by dogs or pushed back to where they came from. This is not humane or humanitarian behaviour,” the movie director said.
Holland also spoke about her disappointment with the new Polish government, which continues the border defence policies of their predecessors.
“I don’t even know what to call it. Lying, disappointment, and also confusion. What does it mean what we have defended for these eight years [during the PiS government – ed.], often with great sacrifice? Many here among us sacrificed these eight years of their lives and their health, their affluence, their professional and family lives – because they thought that this word 'constitution’ was not just an empty word,” Holland said.
The words sparked wide criticism from commentators in Poland, including top government officials such as the Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“Ms Agnieszka Holland’s words on Kanał Zero about Polish officers are scandalous and unacceptable. Uniformed personnel do not mistreat anyone; they just defend the border and look after our safety. Mrs Holland’s statement undermines this security,” PM Kosiniak wrote in an X post.
Agnieszka Holland is known for her criticism of Polish authorities’ policies to defend the Polish- Belarusian border from orchestrated migration pressure created by Moscow and Minsk.
In 2023, Holland directed a movie called “Green Border”, describing the situation at the Polish-Belarussian border and showing the suffering of migrants being objectified by the Russian and Belarussian services. The picture also featured strong criticism, by some considered as an ungrounded attack, on Polish officers securing the border.
Source: X, Polsat News
Photo: @Sluzby_w_akcji
Tomasz Modrzejewski
