On 31 August, on the portal DoRzeczy.pl, Colonel Jacek Gawryszewski published a sharp polemic with writer Grzegorz Rodzikowski. erstwhile deputy chief of the ABW accuses him of building far-reaching narratives about Russian influences without adequate evidence. The credibility of the debate on Poland's security, which must not be based on either innuendo or organization propaganda, is at stake.
Former deputy chief of the ABW publishes acute polemics
Jacek Gawryszewski, erstwhile Deputy Head of the interior safety Agency and erstwhile Ambassador of Poland to Chile, published in DoRzeczy.pl a column entitled “Alias Szarlatan”. The text is aimed at Grzegorz Rodzikowski, a writer dealing with peculiar services and Russian influences.
Gawryszewski does not have a cool methodological dispute. He uses harsh irony and undermines the professional credibility of Rodzikowski. He is accused of drawing besides far-reaching conclusions from the information available on the Internet, overreliance on anonymous sources and presenting hypotheses as elaborate stories about the activities of Russian services. These are the evaluations of the author of the column, not the findings of the court or the state authorities.
The most serious allegation concerns the standard of proof
The point of the polemic is the question of evidence. Gawryszewski recalls the message by Mr.Oktowski from a conversation with Jacek Pałasiński, in which the writer was to admit that he had no evidence to let the incarceration of the persons indicated by him. The erstwhile deputy chief of the ABW considers this to be a confirmation that media thesis overtakes material that can withstand the control of state institutions.
This case is simply a substance of urgency. Russia carries out intelligence, disinformation and hybrid activities against Poland. It would be irresponsible to underestimate the threat. However, it is equally dangerous for people to description a Russian agent without material to be checked. specified an accusation could destruct a reputation and, by the way, ridicule the actual warnings of counterintelligence.
Services shall act on the basis of procedures, operational information and evidence. The writer has the right to ask questions and to uncover links, but must clearly separate the fact, hypothesis and opinion of the source. Otherwise, the recipient gets a sensational plan that he can't verify.
Gawryszewski besides criticizes political accounts
The author of the column begins the text with a dispute over the condition of Polish services after the change of power. He mocks the communicative of the current ruling camp, according to which the regulation of the United Right would leave the service broken and helpless. It points out that many committees, investigation teams and settlement announcements have not yet produced results corresponding to the scale of erstwhile accusations.
This is besides Gawryszewski's public opinion. It should not be confused with the authoritative balance sheet of the interior safety Agency or the prosecution. However, it hits the real problem of the Polish state: the services cannot be a tool of organization revenge, and their effectiveness is not measured by the number of press conferences. Poles request counterintelligence capable of detecting abroad operations, protecting infrastructure and presenting material on the basis of which they can act legally.
Security of Poland needs to be serious
The information war favors 2 extremes. The first is to see Russian inspiration at all event. The another mocks the danger itself erstwhile 1 loud thesis proves weak. They both aid Moscow due to the fact that they break up trust in the state and the media.
Gawryszewski's polemic is brutal in its form, but it raises a question from which 1 cannot escape: where does the journalistic investigation end and the innuendo begins? The national interest requires that allegations of abroad influence be examined hard, calm and in full respect of the law. In this area, an effective communicative will never replace evidence.
Source: Jacek Gawryszewski, “Alias Szarlatan”, DoRzeczy.pl.
Source: To Things
