Polish politician Michał Dworczyk defended the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, calling it unethical and shameful to smear the organization’s name for political reasons. He responded to reports on a media outlet about the Foundation, emphasizing that the Foundation has operated abroad on Poland’s behalf for eighteen years and has supported democratic initiatives in Eastern Europe.
Over the last four years, the Foundation, founded by Dworczyk, has received nearly PLN 60 million from the Prime Minister’s Chancellery.
He issued a seven-point reply addressing the accusations and clarifying his positions in response to continued insinuations by Civic Platform politicians about the Foundation, which he co-founded with A. Lipiński in 2005.
1. In late 2005, together with A. Lipiński, who was then a PiS member of parliament, the Freedom and Democracy Foundation was established. Its principal aim was to assist Poles persecuted by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, and the Foundation has developed significantly over the last eighteen years.
2. When he was elected to parliament in 2015, Dworczyk resigned as chairman of the board of directors and has not served on any board of the WiD Foundation since then.
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Support for Polish communities and Poles abroad
He highlights important formal aspects related to governance and funding.
3. In 2020, after funds intended for supporting the Polish diaspora and Poles abroad were transferred from the Senate to the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Dworczyk, following legal counsel, withdrew from the award process to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Responsibility for these funds was transferred to the Government Plenipotentiary for the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad, with the Secretary of State at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, J. Dziedziczak, acting with the Prime Minister’s consent. Dworczyk was removed from all stages of preparing applications, their evaluation, decision making, and settlements.
4. The Foundation has never been a political organization. Although in the past eighteen years some politicians served on statutory bodies, including R. Tyszkiewicz and Ł. Abgarowicz of the PO, and A. Lipiński of PiS, the work has always been cross-party, uniting in support of compatriots in the eastern regions and advocating democratic changes in the former USSR republics.
5. The politician believes that non-governmental organizations are foundational to civil society. He has supported and will continue to support foundations and associations, including the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, within the bounds of applicable law. He has known many people working at the Foundation for more than two decades.
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Aid for Poles in the East
He underscores the Foundation’s longstanding role in assisting Poles living in the former eastern border areas and other communities affected by regional changes.
6. For years the Freedom and Democracy Foundation has stood among the three largest non-governmental organizations aiding Poles in the East. In 2013 through 2015, its annual budget ranged from seven to thirteen million PLN. In addition to domestic grants, the Foundation receives funds from abroad, including grants from the United States Department of State, Swedish SIDA, US Aid, UNICEF, and the European Commission.
7. Detailed information about the Foundation’s activities is available on its own website, and an open letter signed by more than 120 Polish and Polish organizations from Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and other countries collaborating with the Foundation has been released in response to attacks against the Foundation.
Destroying the reputable standing of a non-governmental organization that has worked abroad on Poland’s behalf for eighteen years and supported democratic changes in the East is portrayed as unethical and shameful.
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