How to help the Polish minority in Belarus, persecuted by Lukashenko's regime? The government in Warsaw is considering asking European institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, for asssistance in defending the Polish minority in Belarus against human rights abuses, reported the press.
Joanna Najfeld reports
Alexander Lukashenko's regime does not recognize the Union of Poles headed by Angelica Borys. Instead, the Belarussian government founded their own union of Poles, and now tries to force the Polish minority to hand over their property to the stooge organization created by the regime.
On Thursday about 50 Poles were detained by the Belarussian police, as they traveled to a meeting in Ivyanets, to defend a house belonging to the union, from being taken over by Lukashenko's functionaries. The Belarussian government keeps silent about the incident, while the regime's public television airs biased coverage of the situation, blaming Poles for all the problems.
The incident caused understandable uproar in Warsaw. European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, who was visiting Poland on that day, said that the EP will look into the matter immediately. Warsaw wants to ask also other international institutions for assistance.