KONSKOWOLA, Poland (Reuters) – Surrounded by rose and lavender fields in quiet eastern Poland, some residents of the village of Konskowola feel that the European Union may be trying to blackmail them.
A general view shows a square in Konskowola, Poland, July 16, 2020. REUTERS / Aleksandra Szmigiel
Like hundreds of other municipalities in rural Poland, the local council has declared that Konskowola is free from “LGBT ideology”, reflecting a backlash against gay rights across the largely conservative, largely Catholic nation.
This has raised doubts in Brussels, and the European Commission has pointed out to regional authorities, including Konskowola, that it can curb EU aid to areas that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Some residents, such as Radoslaw Gabriel Barzenc, head of the Konskowola council, are angered by what they see as unwarranted interference by Europe’s liberal west in the city’s beliefs.
“The restrictions could be implemented because people have an opinion. Is this not discrimination? Is this what European tolerance is all about? I don’t think so, “he told Reuters.
“I can’t imagine that we would give in to blackmail.”
Gay rights have become a hot topic in Poland since the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power five years ago promising to uphold traditional family values.
In the run up to last Sunday’s presidential election, incumbent Andrzej Duda, allied with PiS, pledged to ensure that gay couples are unable to adopt children and to avoid education about gay rights in public schools.
He won a second five-year term with a 51% margin against a liberal rival, amid growing polarization in Poland over the role that religious values must play in public life.
PiS and Duda have disagreed with Europe over Warsaw’s adherence to democratic norms, and the issue was on the agenda of a European Union summit that started in Brussels on Friday.
Some want to freeze payments for EU countries that are said to be undermining democratic values, such as Poland, although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing ally of the conservative Warsaw government, has threatened a veto.
On the eve of the summit, Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s gay prime minister, expressed his outrage.
“If we accept that you condemn a sexual minority, tomorrow it will be religion, the day after tomorrow it will be race,” he told Reuters.
A Polish rights organization also asked the European anti-fraud office OLAF to investigate whether EU funds disbursed in Poland are being misused by “LGBT-free” communities. OLAF declined to comment.
‘HOMOPROPAGANDA’
In Konskowola, in the conservative heart of Poland, around 70% of residents voted for Duda, a devout Catholic.
“The EU should not withdraw its funds,” said Urszula Nowak, a 76-year-old pensioner who has lived her entire life in the village. “It would mean that the EU was against our faith. Most Poles are Christians after all. ”
Konskowola authorities say their goal is not to discriminate against any person.
In a 2019 statement, the council said it opposed any public activity aimed at “promoting the ideology of the LGBT movement,” and stated that it would protect its school and families from anything that contradicts Christian values.
“We will not allow any administrative pressure in support of the political correctness, legitimately called ‘homopropaganda,'” the statement said.
But dissent in Konskowola, which has a population of just over 2,000, is brewing.
Mayor Stanislaw Golebiowski, who is not a member of the local council, says he should never have addressed the issue and should reconsider. Feels too much at stake.
He wants cash from the EU to modernize irrigation systems, which are made more urgent by falling groundwater levels, by the precious fields of roses and other flowers he grows.
Like thousands of cities and towns in Poland, which joined the EU in 2004 and have since received some 36 billion euros ($ 41 billion) in aid, Konskowola has spent the money on projects to improve the level of life after the ravages of World War II and four decades of communism.
Honorata Sadurska, 26, a bisexual veterinarian from Konskowola, believes homophobia is on the rise.
“It happened that I was pushed on the bus or someone yelled something I don’t like. Is it because of the council statement? He told Reuters. “I don’t know which came first, the chicken or the egg.”
But she opposes the funding cuts for Konskowola. “It will only isolate those places more.”
Additional reports by Aleksandra Smigiel and Joanna Plucinska; Additional reporting by John Chalmers; Written by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Giles Elgood
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