BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/05/2007

Heading to Belarus? Don't forget your condom

Warsaw - Customs officers in Belarus have ordered drivers crossing over from Poland to carry a condom or be denied entry into the former Soviet republic, Polish customs officials claimed on Tuesday.

"Several cases of this kind took place last week. They only involve the border crossing at Terespol," an eastern Polish town which lies across the border from the Belarusian city of Brest, said Marzena Siemieniuk, a local Polish customs service spokesperson.

The Belarusian guards have allegedly demanded that drivers include a condom in the emergency first aid kit which road regulations say they must carry.

Belarusian diplomats in Poland, however, denied the existence of new rules.

"If such incidents have taken place, I will step in," said Alexander Kontski, the Belarusian consul responsible for eastern Poland.

Condoms are obligatory for drivers heading from northern Poland to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, but "checks are rare," said Ryszard Chudy, a local Polish customs spokesperson. - Sapa-AFP

Source:

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=nw20070529221259348C487897

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