Polish MFA fears problems with Pole’s Cards issuing

Legal evaluations by Belarus will not impact the Polish Act on the Pole’s Card.

Poland still does not know the rationale for the decision of the Belarusian Constitutional Court, which says the norms of the Polish Act on the Pole’s Card do not meet certain norms of international law. However, Belarus’s legal evaluations will not affect the content of the Polish law act, Polish MFA spokesman Marcin Bosacki said.

He emphasized that Poland head earlier introduced the act to the OSCE, and the organization said “the law contains nothing that could contradict the principles the OSCE guides by”. Bosacki reminded that the motion of the Belarusian House of Representatives had also been motivated by inconsistence between the Act and the OSCE principles. The Polish MFA representative noted that Belarus had closed down the OSCE Office in Minsk by forbidding the organization to criticize the authorities.

The spokesman also warned about possible repressions against the Polish ethnic minority in Belarus. “We fear that the evaluation by the Belarusian Constitutional Court may lead to problems with Pole’s cards issuing,” the MFA representative said. He also warned the Belarusian Poles about possible repressions by the Belarusian authorities.

Bosacki stressed that the Act on the Pole’s Card was not directed against any state. “Owing the Card does not undermine loyalty of Poles as citizens of Belarus,” REGNUM news agency reports with a reference to Polskie Radio.