BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

16/08/2007

Poland brands entry refusal for politicians to Belarus "unjustified",lodges official complaint

WARSAW. AUGUST 16. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - Poland has lodged an official complaint with Belarus after a number of top politicians were denied entry to the country, branding the move "unjustified", the Foreign Ministry wrote in a Thursday communique.

"Representatives of the Eastern Politics Department lodged the Polish Foreign Ministry's protest [with Belarusian Ambassador to Poland Pavel Latushko] and pointed out that Polish authorities perceive entry bans implemented by the Belarusian side as unjustified and limiting the rights of Polish MPs and government representatives to maintain relations with the Polish minority in Belarus," the communique reads.

Several Polish politicians were refused entry to Belarus on Wednesday, ahead of Polish Army celebrations in the Belarusian city of Grodno. Donald Tusk, the leader of the largest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), and Deputy Speaker of the Senate Krzysztof Putra were prevented from entering the country at the border crossing. Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's aide, Michal Dworczyk, was stopped while in Belarus on his way to Grodno and requested to leave the country, according to Polish daily Dziennik.

The Polish Foreign Ministry has asked the Belarusian embassy for an explanation. The institution is reported to have issued a statement saying that Tusk is on a list of people whose presence in Belarus in undesirable, and the deputy speaker of the Senate was notified in advance that he would be denied entry on Wednesday. Putra denied he received such a warning, the Polish daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, wrote.

The representative for the Polish minority in Belarus, Andzelika Borys, said the incident shows the ill will and lack of flexibility of the Belarusian authorities, according to Polish daily Rzeczpospolita.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/5/303662/news.aspx

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