The Belarusian diplomat was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry after the arrest of the head of the Union of Poles in Belarus, the Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The head of the Union of Poles, Angelica Boris, was detained in the Belarusian city of Grodno the day before.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its protest against the detention by the Belarusian special services of Anzhelika Boris, the chairman of the Union of Poles in Belarus”, – the statement reads.
According to the Polish Foreign Ministry, Charge d’Affaires of Belarus in Poland was summoned.
“The representative of the Belarusian diplomacy received an unambiguous signal that the actions of the Belarusian authorities contradict Belarus’s international obligations to protect national minorities and the bilateral Polish-Belarusian obligations to protect the Polish minority”, – the statement reads.
The Polish side insists that “the activities of the Union of Poles in Belarus are aimed at fostering Polish culture and traditions, supporting Polish education and learning the Polish language”.
“The arrest of Anzhelika Borys, who was elected a few days ago for another term, strikes a blow not only on good relations with Poland, but also on Belarusian traditional multiculturalism”, – the statement says.
The Polish Foreign Ministry calls “as soon as possible to release the president of the Union of Poles in Belarus and to end the arbitrary persecution of representatives of the Polish minority”.
As the official representative of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee Igor Belozerov told RIA Novosti on Wednesday, an administrative process has been started against Boris. According to him, “in her actions, committed a few days ago, the structure of an administrative violation is seen, provided for by Article 24.23 of the Administrative Code (“Violation of the procedure for organizing or holding mass events”- ed.) of the Republic of Belarus”.