SBU sees no signs of treason in MPs' address to Polish Sejm with request to recognize Volyn tragedy as genocide of Poles
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has not seen any sign of treason in an address submitted by 148 Ukrainian MPs from the Party of Regions and the Communist Party to the Polish Sejm with a request to recognize the Volyn tragedy as genocide of the Polish people, and described it as "the opinion of a group of people's deputies," Tyzhden.ua reported on Tuesday.
The SBU made such a statement in response to an inquiry from the online newspaper.
"[The SBU found] in the actions of people's deputies of Ukraine no form of treason or direct intent aimed at harming the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the state, economic or information security of Ukraine, which is a mandatory sign of treason," reads the response.
"In view of the above, the actions of Ukrainian MPs in their address to the Polish Sejm do not contain a crime envisaged by Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, but are only a statement of the opinion of a group of people's deputies of Ukraine regarding tragic historical events," the SBU said.
As reported, in early July 2013, 148 MPs representing the Party of Regions, the Communist Party and several other independent lawmakers signed an address to the Polish Sejm asking it to recognize the Volyn massacre by OUN-UPA as genocide of the Polish people and to condemn the criminal actions of Ukrainian nationalists.
On July 12, the Polish Sejm rejected an amendment proposed by the opposition to use the term "genocide" in the adopted resolution on the 70th anniversary of the Volyn tragedy, leaving the wording "ethnic cleansing with signs of genocide" in the text of the resolution.
