BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/01/2010

Leader of Belarus Poles on tax charges

The head of the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB) Andzelika Borys is to stand trial on tax related charges in what Warsaw sees as increasing harassment of the Polish minority by President Lukashenko's regime.

The news comes after 43 Poles were detained or harassed when making their way to a Polish cultural centre in western Belarus where they were to lend support to Union of Poles activists.

The tax charges relate to payments and expenditure made by the Polonika company run by Borys, who is the leader of one of two rival unions of Poles. The other is sun by government-approved candidates.

Meanwhile, Poland's government is reportedly asking for help from the European Union and IMF to put pressure on the authoritarian regime of President Aleksander Lukashenko to desist from the oppression of Poles in Belarus. "We are lobbying European international institutions, "a senior Polish diplomat told Gazeta Wyborcza.

The IMF is currently considering an aid package to Belarus and Minsk has recently shown interest in distancing the ex-Soviet nation from Russia and forging closer ties with the EU. So the time to apply pressure on Lukashenko is ripe, the official said.

The Union of Poles in Belarus claims around 20,000 members and represents a Polish minority amounting to around 400,000. In 2005, Lukashenko launched a campaign against Polish minority, claiming that it was a "fifth column" trying to destabilize his regime.

Source:

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul124437_leader-of-belarus-poles-on-tax-charges.html


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