Polish foreign minister throws his support behind Anzhelika Boris :: Charter'97 :: News

Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld threw his support behind Anzhelika Boris (Anzelika Borys) amid a longstanding leadership dispute in the Union of Belarusian Poles (UBP).

"They [Ms. Boris and her supporters] can not only count on but also be sure that Poland will not forsake them in a situation where they would be dependent on this autocratic rule, which runs counter to the basic principles of a constitutional state, and the group currently in power in Belarus," the minister said in Tuesday`s interview with a Polish radio station posted on the ministry`s website.

Mr. Rotfeld`s comments came days after the UBP elected new leaders who are widely believed to toe the line of the Belarusian government. Ms. Boris, the association`s leader unrecognized by the Belarusian authorities, and her supporters cried foul, accusing the government of installing loyal leaders at the UBP helm.

The Polish minister described the results of last week`s UBP convention as no surprise. "In fact, this regime did not attempt to disguise a technique that it planned to use for solving the problem. Delegates to this convention, ironically speaking, were delegated by the authorities. This has nothing to do with a non-governmental organization," the official said.

Mr. Rotfeld accused the Belarusian leader of seeking to ban Belarusians from expressing their views and associating. "In this regard, we intend to explain to Western Europe and the European Union that this is not only a Belarusian-Polish affair. This is an affair of fundamental, common values. The problem of Poles in Belarus is a problem of Belarusian citizens. This is a blow against Belarusian society and the Polish minority also is part of this society."

The minister said it was inappropriate to talk about the recognition of last week`s convention. "The government has no duties or functions of recognizing or not recognizing non-governmental organizations. What makes non-governmental organizations different from state ones is that the former need no recognition. We have a very critical, negative attitude to what happened but it cannot be based on the principle of recognizing some and not recognizing others. They simply exist. I mean the organization [UBP] that enjoys support from Lukashenko`s administration," he stressed.

Mr. Rotfeld expressed certainty that the UBP new leadership would have no support from the Polish community which he said made its choice this past March when Ms. Boris was elected. "We consider that choice to be democratic," he noted.