Evening star., 1939-09-14
Deprivation Of Rights
Created Disunity,
Moscow Paper Says
Suppression Instead
Of Normal Relations
Held Policy Of Rulers
Hy the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
MOSCOW, Sept. 14.-The Com
munist party newspaper Pravda to-
day criticized Poland for failure to
take care of her national minorities
In territories once Russian and de-
clared that resultant Polish disunity
was the cause of military defeat"
At the same time Soviet Russia,
through a communique, charged
Polish warplanes with frequent vio-
lations" of her western frontier,
to which vast number of Soviet
reservists have been dispatched.
Pravda's criticism was contained
in an editorial analyzing "the inner
causes of Poland's military defeat, "
which, it said, has entailed the loss
for Poland of practically all her
political and economic centers."
lone finds it difficult" it asserted,
ito explain such a quick defeat only
by superiority of German military
technique and military organlza-
ton and by lack of effective assist
ance to Poland on the part of Great
Britain and France"
Oppression Blamed.
The editorial then declared that
the causes of defeat "are rooted in
the first place in the inner weak
nesses and contradictions of the
Polish state" adding, the Ukrainian
and Byelo-Russian white RuSSian)
population was doomed to cultural
DEGRADATION a multi tional
state, not knit together by ties of
friendship and equality of the peo-
Piles inhabiting it, but on the con-
trary based on oppression and in
equality of national minorities, can
not constitute a strong military
force. This is the root of weak
ness of the Polish and the inner
cause of it's military defeat"
The Pravda article said that Poles
constituted only about 60 per cent
of the population of Poland while
the remaining 40 per cent was made
up of national minorities, chiefly
Ukrainians, White Russians and
Jews.
ITO give an idea of the specific
gravity of the Ukrainian and Byelo-
Russian population of Poland we
should point out that that total ex-
ceeds the population of Finland, Es-
tonia, Latvia and Lithuania taken
together.
Rulers Aggravated Relations.
"It would appear that the Polish
ruling classes should have estab-
lished normal relations with such
important national minoritieS, Sc
cure them national rights, give them
if not political-at least admins
trative autonomy and give them
national schools and cultural instl-
tutions.
"It is clear that without such and
similar rights for national minori-
ties it is impossible to preserve
multinational state and assure its
inner unity and vital power.
Yet the Polish ruling classes
proved incapable of grasping this
)" or making any practical step
to bring about this condition. More,
Polish ruling circles did everything
possible to aggravate relations with
national minorities and bring them
to a state of extreme tension.
THE national policy of ruling cir
cles in Poland is characterized by
suppression and oppression OF ma
tional minorities, particularly Ukrai-
mans and Byelo-R Russians. In West
NToctnrYo PUplN-
Russia-regions where Ukrainians
and Byelo-Russian form the ma
jority of the population--they are
subject to extremely rude and un-
scrupulous exploitation by Polish
landlords.
Deprived of Rights.
"Ukrainians and Byelo- Russians
are subject to regime of national
oppression and deprivation Of
rights
Pravda said that schools of the
minorities were reduced almost to
naught" and that their literature
and arts were in the same position.
These are the reasons" it said,
"why Poland did not and could not
CT6dJS lllt ullleI ulllty dllu COll-
solidation of forces of the multi
national state which could raise
high patriotic wave and unite the
Polish Army, consisting not only Of
Poles, but also of Ukrainians and
Byelo-Russians. in a single endeavor
to offer a rebuff to an armed oppo-
nent"
A lass Official news agency COM
munique said Soviet flyers had
forced down two Polish planes and
that their crews, totaling Is men,
were being detained.
The communique accused "the
violators of trying to penetrate our
territory"
Previous Tass reports said three
planes had been forced down after
crossing the frontier near Mozyr, in
White Russia, and that fourth was
compelled to land in the Ukraine.
Soviet officials indicated they
were considering the question of how
to deal with Polish refugees trying
to cross the frontier. Moscow has
not yet defined its attitude toward
refugees.