BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

12/02/2008

Belarus criticizes Charter of the Pole

Belarus has harshly criticized the Charter of the Pole adopted in Poland in order to help people of Polish extraction resident abroad, mainly in post-Soviet republics.

Krysia Kolosowska reports

The Belarusian authorities are against the implementation of the Charter with respect to Poles resident in that country. A spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry Andrei Papou said Warsaw should have consulted its adoption with Minsk. He argued that the implementation of the Charter in its present form may destabilize relations between various ethnic minorities in Belarus and cause tensions in the Belarusian society.

The Charter of the Pole was passed in September 2007. Its aim is to enable Poles resident abroad to maintain links with their homeland and national heritage. It introduces various privileges like the right to work in Poland and to travel to Poland without a visa. Oskar Chomicki of the Poland in Europe Foundation says Warsaw has the duty to take care of Poles abroad. He says the Charter is used by the authoritative Belarusian government as a pretext to stave off any democratic influences from Poland.

'It is clear to me that the people of Polish origin should have some privileges that would make their travel across the European's Union's eastern border easier for them. Culturally speaking, those people living in Belarus are aware of their Polish nationality and they should look to Poland as a country that would support their historical ties with Poland. So, I think the statement on the part of the Belarusian government is purely a pretext in the very long struggle against the Polish government and against anything which comes from the West.'

The Charter is greatly appreciated by Poles in Belarus, says Andrzej Poczobut, an activist of the Union of Poles which was de-legalized by the Belarusian authorities. It has also a symbolic value.

'People have held to their Polish origin in extremely adverse conditions here. For example, in the communist era Poles could not make a career. There were serious restrictions. Still, they cherished their Polish nationality.'

Pavel Usov, a Belarusian journalist, says the reaction of the Belarusian government is a signal to the West that it is not going to liberalize its internal policy.

'Belarusian government feels the pressure from the EU and from such countries as Poland and Germany. It tries to tell the EU that Belarus is not going to be a democratic state. We can see that on the one hand, the Lukashenko regime tried to release almost all political prisoners, but it shows that in reality it is not for democracy and for warming of its internal policy.'

Belarus has asked Poland to suspend the Charter of the Pole and let it be examined by foreign legal experts. Earlier, the Savietskaya Bielarus daily said editorially that the Charter was a veiled attempt to hit out at Belarus orchestrated by nationalist Polish politicians.

Source:

http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/news/artykul75711_Belarus_criticizes_Charter_of_the_Pole.html

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