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The Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Thursday that it had filed a criminal case against the president of the Polish Union in Belarus (SBP), Angelika Borys, and others. They are accused of “seeking to rehabilitate Nazism, to justify the genocide of the Belarusian nation.”
On Wednesday, the court imposed a 15-day arrest on A. Borys for violating the rules of mass gatherings during this year’s Kaziukas fair.
The journalist and member of the SBP, Andrzej Poczobut, was arrested on Thursday. Several other union members reported that their homes were searched.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Andžejus Pukštas
The criminal cases are revenge for both the active local Polish community and Warsaw’s official position, says Andrzej Pukštas, Head of the Department of Political Science at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU).
“There are two Polish minority unions in Belarus: one of them is small, supports Lukashenko and has been created with the help of his administration. It officially represents the Poles in Belarus.
And the SBP with President Borys is not registered. It has many more members (than a recognized union – ed.) And in fact unites the Polish minority. The position of this union since ancient times is antilukašenkiška. It is active enough, it has always been supported by the Polish government, both current and former, “said A. Pukštas.
The SBP said that the persecution of Borys was an attempt to intimidate the Polish minority in Belarus. Despite fears of further repression against the diaspora, the union vowed to continue its work.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieckis called on the Belarusian regime to stop persecuting the Poles and said they are being held hostage. The head of government promised to raise the issue at a meeting of the European Council on Friday.
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Poles are not a new target
According to A.Pukštas, this is not the first time that the regime has attacked the Poles of Belarus: in the past, attempts have been made to oppose both Polish unions, to deprive SBP of real estate bought by Poland with budgetary funds.
A. Pukštas assures that A. Lukashenko constantly returns to the accusations against the Polish community in Belarus.
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“There are many more people in the unregistered Polish Union, they have never been behind Lukashenko, they have constantly emphasized his antilukašenkišką position. Therefore, Lukashenko is interested in escalating the problem in this area. ” 15 minutes said the political scientist.
According to A. Pukštas, the population of the western part of Belarus is more oriented towards the West and anti-Lukashenko, therefore, in the Grodno region, where many Poles live, it could be useful for an autocrat to exacerbate the conflict and possibly take provocations.
When the massive protests against Lukashenko began in Belarus last year, he, like Lithuania, accused Poland of organizing them. At one point, he claimed that Warsaw was fueling riots to tear apart the Grodno region.
At the same time, Poland and Lithuania came out strongly in favor of European Union (EU) sanctions against the Minsk regime. Poland has hosted hundreds of Belarusians fleeing repression, and independent Belarusian media have registered in the country.
Following the announcement of the persecution of Polish activists, the Polish Foreign Ministry accused Belarusian officials of violating international standards regarding the Polish minority in Belarus.
Representatives of the EU and the United States demanded the release of the SBP activists and President Gitan Nauseda expressed his concern.
According to A.Pukštas, “Poland’s response may not be much greater.”
“The war between embassies and diplomats will probably not continue, because there is not much to send. Poland will try to raise this issue internationally, “he said.
When asked about the danger to the Lithuanian community in Belarus, A. Pukšto says: it is too small to be more visible.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) stated that it had no information on the persecution of members of Lithuanian communities in Belarus.
“However, the actions of the regime threaten the entire population of Belarus,” the ministry said in a statement.
What are the Poles blamed for?
At the end of February, the Polish consul in Brest, Jerzy Timofiyuk, appeared at an informal event to mark the day of the anti-communist underground movement Cursed Soldiers.
The movement operated in the 1950s, and its leader, Romuald Rajs, nicknamed “Brown”, was executed for crimes against the peaceful population. He contributed to the massacre of 79 Belarusians in eastern Poland in 1946, which was later recognized as an act of genocide.
True, the Polish National Institute of Memory announced the acquittal of R. Rays in 2019, Minsk then summoned the Polish ambassador.
After the event, the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented a note to Marcin Wojciechowski, Charge d’Affaires of Poland in Belarus. The consul of the Polish Consulate General in Brest and later the head of the Consulate General in Grodno were ordered to leave Belarus.
Poland, for its part, has declared three Belarusian diplomats in the country undesirable.
Following the arrest of A. Borys, the Polish Foreign Ministry convened on Wednesday the Minister of Counselor of the Belarusian Embassy on Trade and Economic Affairs.
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