宿怨难消

Lithuania and Poland
立陶宛和波兰

Bad blood
宿怨难消

Lithuania and Poland seem to have hit an icy impasse
立陶宛和波兰两国关系看似陷入僵局

POLAND was one of Lithuania’s best friends in January 1991. As Soviet troops tried to impose a puppet regime in Vilnius, Lithuania’s foreign minister, Algirdas Saudargas, fled to Warsaw, ready to head a government-in-exile if the worst happened. Polish politicians condemned the Soviet crackdown. It failed, but 14 unarmed protesters were shot and crushed by tanks, with hundreds maimed or injured.
1991年1月，波兰是立陶宛最好的友邦之一。在苏联军队强行于维尔纽斯建立一个傀儡政权时，立陶宛外交部长阿尔吉尔达•绍达尔加斯逃到华沙，准备领导一个流亡政府，以防不测。波兰政治家对苏联此次的镇压活动表示了谴责。流亡政府以失败而告终，14名手无寸铁的示威者遭到枪击并受到坦克的镇压，数百人受伤或残疾。

Twenty years on, at ceremonies to commemorate these events, Poland was represented by only a low-level delegation, announced at insultingly short notice. Poland’s patience is at an end, says a senior diplomat, citing Lithuanian foot-dragging on restitution of pre-war Polish property, broken promises on language rights for the ethnic Polish minority, attempts to undermine its schools and ill-treatment of a Polish-owned oil refinery.
二十年来，在对此事的纪念仪式上，波兰不甚礼节地发出临时通知，只派出一个低级别的代表团出席。一位资深外交官表示，立陶宛对战前波兰财产的赔偿拖拉不前，对波兰少数民族语言权利的失信，对波兰学校的破坏活动和对一家波兰人持有的炼油厂的非法对待，波兰对此已经丧失耐心。

Lithuanians are incensed and feel bullied by their bigger neighbour. Lithuania is the only country outside Poland to offer Polish-language education from infancy to adulthood, they point out. Latvia’s arrangements for its Polish minority are broadly similar. Ethnic Lithuanians in Poland have problems, too. So why the fuss?
立陶宛人怒不可遏，感觉受到了这个较为强势邻国的欺负。他们指出，立陶宛是波兰境外唯一一个提供幼儿至成年波兰语教育的国家。拉脱维亚对波兰少数民族的安置同立陶宛大致相同。立陶宛少数民族在波兰同样也会遭遇各种问题。为什么要将这些事小题大做呢？

Some think the thaw in relations between Warsaw and Moscow has sparked mischief-making. Others suggest that Radek Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, has a personal vendetta against Lithuania (he insists he does not). But personalities do play a role. Lithuania’s president, Dalia Grybauskaite, was to blame for a spectacularly stormy meeting last year with Bronislaw Komorowski, her Polish counterpart, say outsiders who were there.
有人认为，华沙和莫斯科之间的冰冻关系激发了争端。也有人认为，波兰外长西科斯基对立陶宛积怨很深，但遭其否认。不过，政坛人士确实扮演一些角色。立陶宛总统达利娅•格里包斯凯特对去年会晤波兰外长布罗尼斯瓦•科莫罗夫斯基所发生的剧烈争吵负有责任，当时与会的知情人士透露。

The two prime ministers, Audrius Kubilius of Lithuania and Donald Tusk of Poland, get on fine, unlike their combative foreign ministers. One reason may be that Mr Tusk is a member of Poland’s small Kashubian minority and thus more sensitive to the worries that small ethnic groups have about big ones.
同两国外长针锋相对所不同的是，立陶宛总理安德留斯•库比留斯（Audrius Kubilius）和波兰总理唐纳德•图斯克 (Donald Tusk)相处甚好。其中一个原因可能是因为图斯克是波兰少数民族卡舒比（Kashubian）出身，他对少数民族担心主体民族的举动表现得更为敏感。

Plenty of people think the row has gone too far. Polish newspapers criticised the decision to snub the Lithuanian anniversary ceremonies. America wants both countries to co-operate more, not least in regional military exercises planned for this year and next. Estonians and Latvians fear the dispute may block better road, rail and power links to the south-east that will end their isolation from the rest of Europe.
许多人认为此番争吵已实在太过分。波兰媒体批评说，波兰的决定怠慢了立陶宛的周年庆典。美国希望双方展开更多合作，而不仅仅局限于今年和明年预定的区域军事演习。爱沙尼亚和拉脱维亚担心这两国的纠纷可能会阻碍连接东南的公路，铁路和电力网络的完善。而这些格局将结束爱拉两国同欧洲其他国家的隔离。

The real problem lies in differing interpretations of history. Each country insists that the other behaved badly in the past but skates over its own mistakes. After Polish troops seized Vilnius (then called Wilno) in 1920, the pair spent the inter-war years in a stony fury. That ended in disaster for both. Some worry that this sorry history may repeat itself. Yet the blunt truth is that Poland can afford to ignore Lithuania, whereas Lithuania and its Baltic friends cannot do without Poland.
真正的问题在于对历史的不同诠释。两国各执己见，认为对方在过去表现欠佳，但却对自身错误一带而过。在波兰军队于1920年占领维尔纽斯（当时称为威尔诺），双方愤怒地上演了多年残酷内战。最终，两败俱伤。有人担心，这段令人遗憾的历史可能重演。然而，一个绝对的真理是，波兰对忽视立陶宛可以承担得起，但立陶宛及其波罗的海的友邦对放弃波兰却无法承受。