BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2005

Poles deserve the West's support

Mark Lenzi International Herald Tribune

One of the more dramatic political dramas playing out in Europe this summer is the profound increase in tension between new NATO and EU member Poland and its eastern neighbor, the pariah state of Belarus.

Almost unheard of in Europe nowadays, a political shoving match complete with a war of words, the expulsions of numerous diplomats from Warsaw and Minsk and, on Thursday, Poland's recall of its ambassador, has broken out between the two countries over the Belarusian government's harassment and poor treatment of ethnic Poles living in Belarus.

The ethnic Polish community in Belarus - about 400,000 people or roughly 4 percent of the Belarusian population - has been square in the crosshairs of the Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko ever since the Orange Revolution in neighboring Ukraine last year toppled a like-mindedly corrupt regime. Lukashenko's fear that he will be ousted in a similar popular uprising has caused him to crack down brutally on minorities and organizations that he fears may not continue to stay silent in the face of his illegitimate and increasingly authoritarian rule. Topping his hit list was the Union of Poles in Belarus - the largest nongovernmental organization in the country and one with democratic credentials and close ties to Poland.

In actions straight out of Soviet Political Methodology 101, the Belarusian government last month orchestrated an illegal coup within the Union of Poles in Belarus and replaced the democratically elected leadership with their own cronies and closed the country's main Polish-language newspaper, instead printing a bogus paper with the same name and format that praised the regime in every aspect. These actions have run parallel with arrests, detentions and show trials of average citizens and journalists in order to instill a sense of fear within the ethnic Polish community and the Belarusian population at large.

Poland, which has quietly asserted itself as a regional leader and anchor of stability in Eastern Europe, has responded to these actions with outrage and tough rhetoric and has expelled numerous Belarusian diplomats. It recalled its ambassador on Thursday after a raid on a building near the Polish border, used by ethnic Poles. At the same time, it called on the European Union to impose sanctions on the Belarusian leadership.

Warsaw desires to do more to protect its ethnic brethren but increasingly feels isolated in its actions and policies from Western European countries in the EU, which maintain a rigid and counterproductive policy of simply ignoring Belarus and calling for a nonconfrontational approach by all means - even in such cases when Minsk clearly provokes and blatantly violates international norms.

The EU, not wanting to harm relations with Belarus's historic big brother, Russia, has tried appeasing Minsk for the better part of a decade, despite Lukashenko's continual efforts to rig elections and close all meaningful independent media outlets, all against a background of mysterious disappearances of journalists and political opponents.

Because the treatment of minorities in Eastern Europe has led to wars and ethnic strife in the not so distant past, it should be obvious that the tension simmering between Poland and Belarus should be urgently addressed through an international negotiating forum before a further escalation of hostilities.

Because Washington counts Poland among its best allies - indeed the Poles have stuck with the United States through thick and thin from the Revolutionary War to Iraq - it is time for the Bush administration to initiate high-profile assistance to Polish efforts to resolve the issue of the treatment of the Polish minority in Belarus peacefully. In addition to leading a high-level international forum to mediate the conflict, Washington should increase direct pressure on Belarus while also compelling Moscow to step up actions to rein in its client state's dangerous behavior.

Ethnic Poles have historically represented one of the largest and most influential minorities in the United States and have thrived in a free political environment to help shape American political discourse. It is in this context that the United States, more than any other country in the world, should realize what is at stake and the dangerous consequences of continuing to stand by while an authoritarian country represses the rights of an ethnic minority in the heart of Europe. Polish people, regardless of citizenship, have been steadfast allies who have assisted the United States time and time again. They should now be able to count on Washington to assist in the peaceful resolution of this conflict.

Mark Lenzi, author of the forthcoming book ''Lost Civilization: The Repression of Civil Society in Belarus,'' is a former Fulbright scholar and Peace Corps volunteer in Poland.

One of the more dramatic political dramas playing out in Europe this summer is the profound increase in tension between new NATO and EU member Poland and its eastern neighbor, the pariah state of Belarus.

Almost unheard of in Europe nowadays, a political shoving match complete with a war of words, the expulsions of numerous diplomats from Warsaw and Minsk and, on Thursday, Poland's recall of its ambassador, has broken out between the two countries over the Belarusian government's harassment and poor treatment of ethnic Poles living in Belarus.

The ethnic Polish community in Belarus - about 400,000 people or roughly 4 percent of the Belarusian population - has been square in the crosshairs of the Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko ever since the Orange Revolution in neighboring Ukraine last year toppled a like-mindedly corrupt regime. Lukashenko's fear that he will be ousted in a similar popular uprising has caused him to crack down brutally on minorities and organizations that he fears may not continue to stay silent in the face of his illegitimate and increasingly authoritarian rule. Topping his hit list was the Union of Poles in Belarus - the largest nongovernmental organization in the country and one with democratic credentials and close ties to Poland.

In actions straight out of Soviet Political Methodology 101, the Belarusian government last month orchestrated an illegal coup within the Union of Poles in Belarus and replaced the democratically elected leadership with their own cronies and closed the country's main Polish-language newspaper, instead printing a bogus paper with the same name and format that praised the regime in every aspect. These actions have run parallel with arrests, detentions and show trials of average citizens and journalists in order to instill a sense of fear within the ethnic Polish community and the Belarusian population at large.

Poland, which has quietly asserted itself as a regional leader and anchor of stability in Eastern Europe, has responded to these actions with outrage and tough rhetoric and has expelled numerous Belarusian diplomats. It recalled its ambassador on Thursday after a raid on a building near the Polish border, used by ethnic Poles. At the same time, it called on the European Union to impose sanctions on the Belarusian leadership.

Warsaw desires to do more to protect its ethnic brethren but increasingly feels isolated in its actions and policies from Western European countries in the EU, which maintain a rigid and counterproductive policy of simply ignoring Belarus and calling for a nonconfrontational approach by all means - even in such cases when Minsk clearly provokes and blatantly violates international norms.

The EU, not wanting to harm relations with Belarus's historic big brother, Russia, has tried appeasing Minsk for the better part of a decade, despite Lukashenko's continual efforts to rig elections and close all meaningful independent media outlets, all against a background of mysterious disappearances of journalists and political opponents.

Because the treatment of minorities in Eastern Europe has led to wars and ethnic strife in the not so distant past, it should be obvious that the tension simmering between Poland and Belarus should be urgently addressed through an international negotiating forum before a further escalation of hostilities.

Because Washington counts Poland among its best allies - indeed the Poles have stuck with the United States through thick and thin from the Revolutionary War to Iraq - it is time for the Bush administration to initiate high-profile assistance to Polish efforts to resolve the issue of the treatment of the Polish minority in Belarus peacefully. In addition to leading a high-level international forum to mediate the conflict, Washington should increase direct pressure on Belarus while also compelling Moscow to step up actions to rein in its client state's dangerous behavior.

Ethnic Poles have historically represented one of the largest and most influential minorities in the United States and have thrived in a free political environment to help shape American political discourse. It is in this context that the United States, more than any other country in the world, should realize what is at stake and the dangerous consequences of continuing to stand by while an authoritarian country represses the rights of an ethnic minority in the heart of Europe. Polish people, regardless of citizenship, have been steadfast allies who have assisted the United States time and time again. They should now be able to count on Washington to assist in the peaceful resolution of this conflict.

Mark Lenzi, author of the forthcoming book ''Lost Civilization: The Repression of Civil Society in Belarus,'' is a former Fulbright scholar and Peace Corps volunteer in Poland.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/29/opinion/edlenzi.php

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