BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
01/06/2007
Belarus border police arrest Polish fishing inspectors
Minsk - Belarus border police arrested a pair of Polish fishing inspectors said by Minsk to have violated the international frontier, the Belapan news agency reported Friday.
The detention took place on the Western Bug River on the western edge of Belarus' Brest region.
The two Polish game and fishing inspectors were aboard a small boat and did not resist when halted by a detachment of Belarusian border troops.
It was not clear from the report whether the Poles had crossed into Belarus accidentally or intentionally.
Belarusian authorities deported the Polish game wardens after citing them for illegal border crossing.
Relations between Poland and its eastern neighbour Belarus have deteriorated dramatically in the decade since Poland joined NATO.
Aleksander Lukashenko, Belarus' authoritarian leader, has accused Warsaw of conspiring with the US to overthrow him. Polish government officials have denied the charge, but repeatedly criticised Lukashenko for running the country almost single-handedly.
Lukashenko in recent months has cracked down on ethnic Poles living in Belarus, fearing them as a potential source of opposition.
Warsaw has protested the crackdowns, saying its support to ethnic Poles in Belarus is aimed at maintaining cultural links and has no hidden political agenda.
c 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Source:
Archive
- December, 2007
- November, 2007
- October, 2007
- September, 2007
- August, 2007
- July, 2007
- June, 2007
- May, 2007
- April, 2007
- March, 2007
- February, 2007
- January, 2007
- December, 2006
- November, 2006
- October, 2006
- September, 2006
- August, 2006
- July, 2006
- June, 2006
- May, 2006
- April, 2006
- March, 2006
- February, 2006
- January, 2006
- December, 2005
- November, 2005
- October, 2005
- September, 2005
- August, 2005
- July, 2005
- June, 2005
- May, 2005
- April, 2005
- March, 2005
- February, 2005
