Belarusian officials: There are no two Unions of Poles

Leanid Hulyaka, the government’s commissioner on religious and ethnic affairs, has refused to recognize the Union of Poles headed by Andzelika Borys.

“We do not have two Unions of Poles. We have one common organisation, which is called the Union of Poles in Belarus, and which is headed by Stanislau Syamashka,” Leanid Hulyaka underlined, BelTA informs.

As for the convention in March 2009, as said by him, it was a meeting of so-called supporters of Andzelika Borys, which later was called a convention. And now people, who are the UPB members, are at a loss, what kind of two Unions (recognized and non-recognized) are meant, the official said.

As for the situation in Ivyanets, Leanid Hulyaka said that 18 letters from members of Ivyanets branch of the UPB have already been received by his agency, in which “indignation over actions of Andzelika Borys and Tereza Sobal, who has headed the branch in Ivyanets.” Leanid Hulyaka noted that the situation concerning Tereza Sobal is “very simple”.

“As a matter of fact, Tereza Sobal opposed herself to most members of the union, she divided them into those who are trusted and who are not. When she acted in this way in the run-up to the congress of the UPB in September 2009, her presence in the UPB was open to question, and by majority of votes she was excluded from the union. “And as the person had been excluded form the UPB, how could she be the head of a local branch?” Leanid Hulyaka asked. “The situation is very simple: Tereza Sobal’s disinclination to cede her authority”.

As said by him, 16 Houses of Poles exist in Belarus, and “no serious conflict situations had occurred anywhere”. “Once there was a conflict in Baranavichy. Andzelika Borys was trying to trouble waters there, but the local leadership of the UPB adopted a sensible attitude. When they tried to provoke the situation in Barysau, they failed as well. That’s all what is left for them, to trouble waters in Hrodna in the republican Polish House, and in Ivyanets. And they need to make PR actions in these two places somehow, otherwise there is no sense in that,” the commissioner on religious and ethnic affairs noted.

As said by Leanid Hulyaka, he often visits regions, and in particular, on February 18 he is to visit Astravets district of Hrodna region, where he is to meet with the leadership of the local branch of the UPB. “People in regions are indignant: why people are speaking about two unions? In some places nobody knows Andzelika Borys, except from the Internet. She was not doing anything there, but she starts to trouble waters in just a few spots of the country, which is advantageous to her, apparently,” Hulyaka said.

Hulyaka finds that undemocratic that Poland prepares blacklists of Belarusian officials for violations of rights of the Polish minority.

“Division into friends and foes is made again: we like this, and these people can come, and we do not like those, and they are unwelcomed. Could such actions of Poland be called democracy?” the commissioner on religious and ethnic affairs said.