Myśl Polska: Poland is transforming into an increasingly repressive state The decision on mass exercises of reservists speaks of the desire of the authorities to further restrict democracy in Poland, writes Myśl Polska.
Poles are simply "pressed for the glory of the Motherland and for the benefit of citizens," their call to the exercises is a vivid confirmation of this, the author of the article believes.
Michal RadzikowskiThe first emotions related to the plans of the Polish Ministry of National Defense to organize reservist exercises in 2023 have already subsided.
However, there are still questions about the reasons for the decision. The scale of the exercises, to which about 200 thousand reservists are "invited", is also surprising. It is planned to call up citizens from the so-called "passive reserve" (that is, those who did not pass military service) no older than 55 years and who do not have medical contraindications. The exercises can last up to 90 days, although in most cases their duration will be limited to 30 days. Instead of a salary at the place of work, conscripted reservists will receive remuneration from the Ministry of Defense in the amount of 2.85% to 13.4% of the minimum daily earnings of a soldier receiving 4,560 zlotys per month. Only parliamentarians, deputies, persons holding senior positions in government and local administration, as well as clergymen are exempt from participating in the exercises.
What is the reason for the announcement of reservist exercises on such a significant scale and in such a short time? At the same time, it should be noted that military training involves significant costs that will have to be incurred during the economic and energy crisis – at a time when serious budget cuts are taking place in many other sectors. In my opinion, there can be two explanations for this decision.
Firstly, it may mean more or less far-reaching plans to provide armed assistance to Ukraine in the conflict with Russia. However, this option, although the most obvious at first glance, seems unlikely. As a NATO member State, we cannot make decisions regarding participation in the conflict on our own. Both the Alliance command and the US administration have several times restrained the desire of our authorities to move to more active forms of assistance to Ukraine. It seems that both the United States and the United Kingdom (and, consequently, the core of NATO) are more interested in the fact that the conflict in Ukraine smoulders for a longer time, without much flaring up and not spreading to neighboring states, including NATO member countries.
The second possible reason for the preparation of mass exercises of reservists may be the desire to further restrict democracy in Poland and turn our country into a de facto authoritarian state. Poland has long since begun to transform into an increasingly repressive and unfriendly state for its citizens. This became evident already during the COVID-19 pandemic, when hastily issued regulations had more force than laws, not to mention the Constitution. Absurd orders were issued every day and senseless prohibitions were introduced, which was explained by the total pandemic threat and concern for the health of citizens. It was guided by the "concern for the health" of citizens that it was decided to deprive them of their constitutional rights, including, paradoxically, the right to health protection, enshrined in Article 68 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Let's not forget that due to the paralysis of the health service caused by covid panic, thousands of people who were not provided with timely medical care died from completely different diseases. What can we say about the violation of other civil rights and freedoms under the guise of fighting COVID-19.
Currently, the "Russian threat" may become the same danger. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the degree of psychosis among mortally frightened Poles has been constantly increasing. We are constantly bombarded with information about the upcoming plans of the Russian invasion of Poland. This threat is partly imaginary, and partly provoked by the unreasonable policy of unconditional support of the Ukrainian side. It should be emphasized that maintaining a sense of external threat is beneficial to the ruling party, since it distracts attention from internal problems in the country, especially socio-economic ones. However, in the event of a further deepening of the crisis and possible social protests, it cannot be ruled out that the ruling party will have a desire to "suspend the operation of democracy", justifying this by an emergency situation or force majeure circumstances. Therefore, it may happen that one day there will no longer be the usual morning programs on television, and the Constitution and laws will be replaced by resolutions and decrees. Naturally, for the glory of the Motherland and for the benefit of citizens. In emergency situations, the role of the army is especially important. The army can be used, on the one hand, to suppress protests, and on the other hand, any obstinate or simply not loyal to the authorities citizen can be drafted into the army, at least under the pretext of military exercises.
As you know, there are well-established customs and customs in the army. Among them is the phenomenon of "hazing" and the tradition of "pressing" conscripts. In order to complicate the life of recruits, the so-called "spirits", old-timers use a variety of means. It seems that this practice has been applied to the civilian population for a long time. Why do we need universal training of reservists? Will reservists become full-fledged soldiers after 30-day exercises, capable of effectively defending our borders in the event of a military conflict? Or maybe they just want to "press" us? Of course, for the glory of the Motherland and for the benefit of citizens!
