At the end of May, Warsaw has had twice to react to actions hostile to Poles in countries bitingly referred to as “post-communist living history museums.” Belarus and Cuba, former “friends” of Poland from the communist camp, today perceive Poland as a threat and try to make the country a political enemy.

The Cuban authorities May 19 detained a group of Poles who came to the island to attend as observers the historic first congress of the unofficial Cuban opposition, the Assembly for the Propagation of Civil Society. The six detained individuals included journalists from Gazeta Wyborcza, Newsweek’s Polish edition and the regional weekly Tygodnik Podhalañski, and also a Cuban affairs and human rights expert and two Iberian-studies specialists who were to be the group’s interpreters. The Poles were transported to emigration police custody without being given the reason for their detention. At the moment of deportation, the fate of the detained group remained unknown, as the Cuban authorities did not allow for contact with them even to representatives of Polish diplomatic services.

Earlier, May 18, two Polish EuroMPs were sent back from Cuba to Europe: Jacek Protasiewicz and Bogus³aw Sonik of the Civic Platform (PO). On the next day, Cuban authorities deported two other European politicians: Czech senator Karel Schwarzenberg and the German Bundestag’s CDU/CSU deputy head Arnold Vaatz.

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) reacted sharply: “Refusing entry to Cuba to two Polish EuroMPs and the detention of journalists is absolutely inexcusable and constitutes an open violation of international law. The Polish government does not intend to tolerate moves of this kind towards our citizens. We demand that Polish journalists be ensured all indispensable protection and security under international rules, and be able to function normally in Cuba,” stated MSZ spokesman Aleksander Cheæko.

Henryk Szlajfer, director of the MSZ’s Department of the Americas, summoned Cuban Ambassador Jorge Fernando Lefebre Nicolás on Friday, to protest against the Poles’ detention and deportation. The MSZ has no doubt that the moves by the Cuban authorities have been contrary to a number of international laws, including the United Nations Organization Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in particular the UN Human Rights Commission resolution concerning human rights in Cuba.

■ Toughened stance
Inasmuch as the deportation of journalists from Cuba may be treated as an incident, the current relations with the Belarusian regime of Alexander Lukashenko have entered the stage of full-on diplomatic war. Lukashenko has toughened his stance, stepping up repression against independent media and organizations.

Lukashenko, aware that in the wake of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution the position of his regime has been increasingly endangered, looks at neighboring Poland as an enemy. He explicitly expressed this back in April, in a parliamentary speech in Minsk openly accusing the Polish embassy of anti-Belarusian activity.

The largest organization with structures remaining considerably independent from the government in Minsk is the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB). At the Sixth ZPB Convention in March in Grodno, new authorities of the organization were elected representing the Polish minority. An¿elika Borys was elected the ZPB’s new president. As it turned out, the choice was not exactly what the government in Minsk had wished, its favorite being the incumbent president of the ZPB, Tadeusz Kruczkowski, considered to be Lukashenko’s man.

Borys and her family suffered persecution from special services. An official reaction from the government also followed: May 12 the Belarusian Ministry of Justice informed that, upon becoming acquainted with materials from the ZPB convention and the course of its preparation, it had recognized the convention as unlawful. According to the ministry, during the convention it came to “glaring infringements of the ZPB statutes.” Following the convention invalidation decision, Kruczkowski resumed the position of ZPB president.

Another act of the hostile campaign against Poland was deportation from Minsk May 16 of Polish diplomat Marek Buæko by the Belarusian authorities. He was accused of “active operations oriented at destabilizing Belarusian society.” Official media termed Buæko as the initiator of the reshuffle in the ZPB leadership during the “illegal” ZPB convention. According to Belarusian public television, Buæko reportedly collected funds from “foreign sponsors” in order to bribe electors and acted as an “instigator of scandals” in the ZPB.

The events in Belarus met with general indignation in Poland. The Sejm held a special debate concerning the issue. The Polish MSZ applied the principle of reciprocality, dubbing a Belarusian embassy employee as persona non grata. A decision was also made to prohibit entry into Poland by individuals who inspired and put into practice the actions concerning the ZPB.

According to the MSZ, the list includes about 10 persons thus far, including representatives of Belarusian authorities. The names will not be made public: they will only learn about the restriction upon attempting to enter Poland. The Polish government also seeks that similar sanctions be applied towards Belarusian authorities by the European Union. The European Commission has already responded to Warsaw’s appeal, and intends to highlight the violation of the Polish minority’s rights in Belarus.

■ Help wanted
According to Belarusian opposition activists, society first and foremost needs independent information. “There is no freedom of speech in Belarus, the truth cannot reach people. Only one independent newspaper has remained, but we expect it to be closed down soon by the authorities as well,” said Irina Touscik, staying in Poland recently.

The independent youth organization to which Touscik belongs publishes a non-registered periodical distributed in the streets. However, those who distribute it meet with harsh repression. “They are detained even for 15 days, and have to pay high fines,” said Touscik. “We need help from the countries of Europe.”

The Belarusian opposition’s appeals have not been left without a response. As EuroMP Bogdan Klich of the PO has informed, a group of EuroMPs, including from Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, has in recent days submitted a draft resolution to the European Parliament concerning establishment of a network of radio stations to broadcast programs for Belarus from neighboring countries.