Polish president evokes country's May 3 Constitution as template for security

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – At official events marking the 232nd anniversary of Poland's May 3 Constitution, President Andrzej Duda harked back to a multinational Poland made up of Poles, Lithuanians, Belarusians and Ukrainians.

“(This is) one of the most important national celebrations that we have in our history and is also extremely important for the Polish army,” Duda said.

“We had a historic, disastrous experience. We deeply believe that everything indicates that this has changed and will never return,” he said, adding that Poland was very keen to become a "political and military part of the great West."

"I would like to thank those who reformed Poland, changed it, removing the layers of evil that remained after years of enslavement, dependence, on the great nightmare from the East, on the Soviet Union," he added.

In an interview with the Polish Press Agency, the head of the President's Office, Pawel Szrot, drew attention to the special circumstances of the event, namely the anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution on May 3 amid Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

“The Constitution of May 3 is the achievement of all the nations that made up the First Polish Republic -- not only Poles, but also Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Belarusians,” Szrot said.

Not marked during the communist era, the Constitution of May 3, 1791 -- a progressive document for its time -- is considered one of the most important achievements in the history of Poland, often called the first constitution of its type in Europe and the world's second oldest constitution.

The adoption of the constitution provoked the hostility of the Commonwealth's neighbors, leading to the Second Partition of Poland in 1792, the Kosciuszko Uprising of 1794 and the Third Partition in 1795.

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had been a federation of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th-17th century Europe, covering 1 million square kilometers (386,102 square miles) in the early 17th century, with a multi-ethnic population of 12 million.

The memory of the May 3 Constitution helped keep Polish aspirations for independence alive. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was marked by high levels of ethnic diversity and by relative religious tolerance.

It stipulated the freedom of all faiths, gave peasants protection under the law and government and created a separation of powers -- parliament, monarchy and judiciary.