Concerts planned in Poland by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters have been canceled after his comments about the war in Ukraine sparked a storm of criticism.
Key points:
- Roger Waters says ‘extreme nationalists’ have put Ukraine on the path to war with Russia
- He also punched a local councilor in a vote to declare him undesirable in Krakow.
- Support for Ukraine is high in Poland
Waters was due to appear in Krakow next April, but Polish media reports of an open letter he wrote to Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska sparked a backlash.
He accused the “extremist nationalists” in Ukraine of having put the country “on the road to war”.
He also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of failing to deliver on his election campaign promises to bring peace to the Donbass region.
Organizers said they had canceled both concerts at Krakow’s Tauron Arena.
Poland is one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies and public support for the Ukrainian cause is very high.
On Facebook, Waters denounced local politician Lukasz Wantuch, who tried to have him declared unwelcome in Poland.
“Lukasz Wantuch threatened to hold a meeting asking the council to declare me ‘persona non grata’ because of my public efforts to encourage all those involved in the disastrous war in Ukraine, especially the governments of the United States and Russia, to work towards a negotiated peace,” he wrote.
“If Mr. Lukasz Wantuch achieves his goal and my next concerts in Krakow are cancelled, it will be a sad loss for me, as I was eager to share my message of love with the Polish people.”
In retaliation, Mr Wantuch suggested Waters could use the date that had “opened up in his calendar” to perform a concert in Russia-accedinated Crimea instead.
Reuters/ABC
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