Al-Sisi reviews Egypt's food security, strategic commodity reserves    Egypt signs strategic agreements to attract global investment in gold, mineral exploration    Syria says it will defend its territory after Israeli strikes in Suwayda    Egyptian Exchange ends mixed on July 15    Suez Canal vehicle carrier traffic set to rebound by 20% in H2: SCA chief    Tut Group launches its operations in Egyptian market for exporting Egyptian products    China's urban jobless rate eases in June '25    Egypt's Health Minister reviews drug authority cooperation with WHO    Egypt urges EU support for Gaza ceasefire, reconstruction at Brussels talks    Pakistan names Qatari royal as brand ambassador after 'Killer Mountain' climb    Health Ministry denies claims of meningitis-related deaths among siblings    Egypt, Mexico explore joint action on environment, sustainability    Egypt, Mexico discuss environmental cooperation, combating desertification    Needle-spiking attacks in France prompt government warning, public fear    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, France FMs review Gaza ceasefire efforts, reconstruction    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger        Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt's GAH, Spain's Konecta discuss digital health partnership    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Poland backs down on Holocaust law, moves to remove jail terms
Published in Ahram Online on 27 - 06 - 2018

Poland said on Wednesday it would water down a divisive Holocaust law that angered the United States and Israel, and remove parts that imposed jail terms on anyone who suggested the nation was complicit in Nazi crimes.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asked parliament to amend the law on Wednesday morning - an unexpected announcement that came as his ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) seeks to bolster security ties with Washington and faces heightened scrutiny from the EU.
Lawmakers started a debate on the changes and the lower house speaker said they will be dealt with in an "urgent procedure".
The law as went into effect in March imposed jail sentences of up to three years for anyone who used the phrase "Polish death camps" or suggested "publicly and against the facts" that the Polish nation or state was complicit in Nazi Germany's crimes.
The nationalist, right-wing government said at the time it was needed to protect Poland's reputation. Israel and its ally the United States said it amounted to a historical whitewash.
"We resign from the criminal provisions," the head of prime minister's office, Michal Dworczyk, told public radio on Wednesday morning, saying those parts of the bill would divert attention from the original point of the legislation.
The PiS government said that following a public debate on the bill, it had decided that there were other "tools" it could use to "protect Poland's good name".
"The change is a result of our analysis of the situation. Also, the international discussion, and especially in the United States had an impact. This is all connected," said a lawmaker from the PiS on the condition of anonymity.
Warsaw has been seeking security assurances from its ally the United States as a deterrence policy against Russia - and last month broke from the EU's outright rejection of Washington's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
European Union ministers began an unprecedented discussion on Tuesday of threats to the rule of law in Poland, urging Warsaw to step back from contested judicial reforms they say put its courts under more political control.
About 3 million Jews who lived in pre-war Poland were murdered by the Nazis, accounting for about half of all Jews killed in the Holocaust.
Jews from across the continent were sent to be killed at death camps built and operated by Germans in occupied Poland - home to Europe's biggest Jewish community at the time - including Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor.
Thousands of Poles risked their lives to protect Jewish neighbours during the war. But research published since the fall of communism in 1989 showed that thousands also killed Jews or denounced those who hid them to the Nazi occupiers, challenging the national narrative that Poland was solely a victim.


Clic here to read the story from its source.