Return of ambassadnds on results of Martynov's visitor depe

The agenda will focus on the situation surrounding the Union of Poles in Belarus, Euroradio has learned.

On February 8 Poland recalled its ambassador to Belarus Genrych Litwin for consultations. Simultaneously, Belarusian ambassador in Warsaw Viktar Haisyonak was summoned to the Polish foreign ministry. Meanwhile, Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a statement that he is going to have 'a man-to-man conversation' with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Martynov during the official meeting on February 12. The focus of the meeting will be on the situation surrounding the Polish minotiry in Belarus.

Polish foreign ministry's spokesman Piotr Paszkowski told the European Radio for Belarus that the exact date of Ambassador Litwin's return to Minsk is yet to be known. Possibly, it will depend on the results of the meeting between the two foreign ministers in Warsaw

We remind that during the first week of February members of the unofficial Union of Poles in Belarus were harrassed by the Belarusian authorities. On February 5, a court in Hrodna penalized Polonica Co. with a fine of Br71 million. Polonica is run by Anzhalika Borys who leads the unofficial union of Poles. The organization serves as a platform for cultural and educational activities for the Polish minority in Belarus. On February 8, the police seized the building of the Polish House in the small town of Ivyanets and evicted local Polish minority members lead by Teresa Sobal.

Michal Dworchek, Polish president's aide on affairs of compatriots abroad, harshly criticized the events surrounding the Polish minority in Belarus. In a conversation with the European Radio for Belarus, he noted that there was no any other country in the world where the rights of ethnic Poles were violated like in Belarus. He said: "Currently, the Poles in Belarus face the most difficult situation. In other countries in or outside Europe where many Poles live, at times there are various situations when if even rights are violated ot European standards are not observed. But what we are seeing in Belarus is the most brutal treatement of the Polish minority in the world.

The authorities in Belarus insist that 'unofficial' Poles should put the blame on themselves, since they are not registered, illegitimate and out of control. The view of the official Minsk is shared by representatives of the pro-governmental Union of Poles. Cheslau Mulitsa, chairman of the Minsk City department of the official Union of Poles in Belarus is confident that only his organization has the right to represent the interests of the Belarusian Poles. Correspondingly, all the assistance from Poland should allegedly be directed to the activities organized by the pro-governmental Union of Poles in Belarus. He says: "There is the Polish Institute in Minsk which has possibilities to render assistance. If they fail to approve this plan, well, this will be an answer to the question whether they want to work together for the sake of Poles!"

Financial matters represent an important issue. Out of 16 Polish Houses that ran cultural and educational activities, 14 are controled by the authorities. Correspondingly, all the financial aid from Poland to those communities was stopped. Andrei Pachobut, a member of the council of the unofficial union, told the European Radio for Belarus that because of the lack of funding, all the buildings were taken over by the local authorities and virtually stopped their operation.

According to the 1999 National Census, nearly 400,000 ethnic Poles live in Belarus. Interestingly, 57.6% said during the census that they usually spoke Belarusian. Only 41.3% of Belarusians use their mother tongue. 10,000 of Belarusian Poles are united into the Union of Poles in Belarus.



Photo: www.racyja.com. Ambassador Genrych Litwin in Hrodna