Protest campaign held at Polish Consulate in Grodno against Warsaw’s aggressive policy
In recent times, the Polish authorities’ rhetoric has become increasingly aggressive. Moreover, harsh statements in the Warsaw-controlled media are complemented by the build-up of military forces near the Belarusian borders. What is happening to Belarus’ western neighbour, who and why is playing the ‘Polish card’? These questions are global, but answers are obvious...
Belarus is offering visa-free travel, medical tourism and exciting excursions to them, while they are demonstrating hysteria and deployment of a 35,000-strong troop at the border. Belarus is advocating good-neighbourliness and stretching a hand of friendship, while they are artificially creating multi-kilometre queues at automobile border crossings. This is the reality.
More than five hundred non-indifferent people took to the streets in Grodno to protest against this state of affairs. Although veterans' organisations had initiated and organised the campaign, it attracted young people as well.
People stated that they would not allow interference in the internal affairs of sovereign Belarus. For example, Marina Mikhalevich, a student of Yanka Kupala Grodno State University, believes that Belarus’ geographical neighbours have enough internal problems of their own.
“Sugar or other essential goods disappear from their stores from time to time… Winter is coming, and they have energy problems. It is better for them to deal with their own problems, rather than to come to us. We do not need your involvement. The anti-Belarusian hysteria is being developed, and many of our citizens who temporarily worked on the territory of the neighbouring country urgently give up everything and leave it. For many years and decades, we have been tightly intertwined by family and friendly ties, but our people are now being blackened by the Warsaw regime, and our history is being blackened as well. It shouldn't be like this! That's why I'm here,” she said.
In turn, pensioner Vitaly Khardikov from Grodno has Russian roots. He was born in the Volgograd Region, but moved to Belarus long time ago. “Surely there is no more hospitable and friendly people in the world than Belarusians,” he stressed. “I realised this literally from the first day I was here. Polish people, like Belarusians, are overwhelmingly just as tolerant. However, the current Polish authorities want to break us up – threating us in words and stating they are ready to act… I wish to say: we are peaceful people, but our ‘armoured train’ is on a siding. We will demonstrate a proper respond if necessary!”
People also recalled the price paid for Poland’s liberation from the Nazi invaders (600,000 Red Army soldiers died saving the lives of Poles) and how the two countries’ citizens jointly restored Warsaw and Krakow destroyed to the ground.
