Left calls for abolition of IPN

20th January 2012

There were proposals this week that the institution which investigates activities carried out during Poland’s communist period be dissolved.

According to TVN24, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) has called for the abolition for the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), claiming that it would help shave PLN 260 mln from this year’s budget alone.

Adding to the controversy, the party has stated the institute is “more disadvantageous” than the Communist Secret Service (SB) ever was.

“We propose that as of June 30, the IPN is dissolved and that on the same day lustration statements will no longer be an obligation,” said SLD spokesman Darius Jonski at a press conference on Tuesday.

“Why are we proposing such measures? Because in the 13 years it has been in operation, the IPN has caused more harm than the SB,” he added.

SLD’s deputy chairman Leszek Aleksandrzak has stated that cases involving the SB should be dealt with by alternative means.

“We believe that criminal cases should be handled by a prosecutor. If there are criminals out there then they should be condemned. All issues relating to historical matters should be dealt with by historians and such institutes. There are many institutions in Poland willing to undertake this role.”

So far the proposals have been met with a great deal of hostility, the only party showing any form of support being the Palikot Movement (RP).

The IPN was established in 1998 and began its activities in 2000 with a duty to “prosecute crimes against peace humanity” and compensate for damages suffered due to the violation of human rights by the state.