Poland-Belarus: A History Of Hatred And Conflict

Tensions between Poland and Belarus have been escalating since 2005, with both countries imposing sanctions on each other and restricting border crossings. The conflict has centred around the treatment of minorities, with Poland accusing Belarus of persecuting its Polish minority, and Belarus targeting Polish minority organisations and activists in the country. Belarus has also been accused of engineering a migrant crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border, with Poland and the EU saying that Belarus has encouraged migrants to illegally cross into Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, in revenge for sanctions. In response, Poland has implemented controversial returns of migrants to Belarus, with human rights activists calling the humanitarian situation along the border alarming.

Poland's support for democracy in Belarus

Poland has consistently supported pro-democracy actions in Belarus. In the early 1990s, Poland began using its bilateral ties with Belarus to press diplomatically for democratization. This support continued into the 2010s, with Poland providing political and moral support to the Belarusian political and civic opposition, especially during presidential elections.

Poland has also provided financial assistance to pro-democracy initiatives in Belarus. Through its development assistance program, Polish Aid, the Polish government has funded democracy-related projects implemented by Polish NGOs and state institutions. Additionally, Poland established the Solidarity Fund PL, a quasi-independent agency that provides democracy aid. These organizations have supported local government reform, independent media, human rights organizations, free and fair elections, civil society, and youth in Belarus.

Poland has also sought international pressure on the Belarusian regime, particularly after the unprecedented protests against President Alexander Lukashenko in the summer of 2020. Poland pleaded for its neighbor to be punished after Lukashenko's regime diverted a plane and arrested a blogger, Roman Protassevich, in Minsk in May 2021. In response to these actions, Poland has welcomed many Belarusian activists and students who now live in exile in Warsaw and other Polish cities.

The migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus border

The crisis escalated in November 2021, with Poland increasing its forces in the area to more than 17,000 soldiers, border guards, and police to prevent around 3,000 people from entering the EU. Overnight temperatures at the border have fallen below freezing, and some of the people stranded there have warned they are running out of food and water. Aid workers have complained that Poland's state of emergency has prevented them from entering the affected area to provide assistance.

The EU has accused Belarus of orchestrating the crisis by luring migrants with false promises of easy entry to the EU. In response, the EU has imposed sanctions on Belarus and listed around 20 countries from which migrants have flown into Minsk, mainly on tourist visas. Belarus has denied the accusations, claiming that the EU is trying to divert attention from its domestic problems.

The crisis has also led to tensions between Poland and Russia, with Poland accusing Russia of destabilising the EU by allowing migrants to travel through Belarus. Russia has denied these accusations and blamed the EU for the crisis. In response to the crisis, Poland has closed its most important border crossing with Belarus, causing economic disruption for truckers and businesses.

The situation has been described as a humanitarian crisis, with migrants stranded in freezing temperatures and lacking access to food, water, and medical care. Human rights activists have reported that Polish law enforcement has used water cannons against migrants and forced them back across the border, contrary to international rules of asylum. The crisis has also raised security concerns for Europe, with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatening to cut gas supplies to the continent if further sanctions are imposed on Minsk.

Diplomatic tensions and repressive legislation

Diplomatic tensions between Poland and Belarus have been rising in recent years, with both countries taking actions that negatively impact the other. In March 2021, representatives of Poland's Consulate General participated in an event commemorating the 'cursed soldiers' who resisted Communist rule after World War II. This event was condemned by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as these soldiers are remembered for murdering approximately 80 ethnic Belarusians in the region of Podlasie in 1946. The incident is considered genocide by Belarus and the commemoration led to escalating confrontation between the two countries.

The conflict also involves the Polish minority in Belarus, who have become a politicised group with representatives from their organisations acting as a third party in the dispute. The Belarusian authorities have targeted these Polish minority organisations with searches, investigations, and arrests, accusing them of inciting ethnic and religious hatred and seeking to restore Nazism. This has resulted in the liquidation of the 'Polish School' and the shutting down of Polish-language media outlets. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs views these actions as persecution of the Polish minority and a violation of Belarus' international obligations to protect national minorities.

In response to the diplomatic tensions and the treatment of the Polish minority, Poland introduced temporary sanctions against Belarusian officials involved in actions against Polish minority representatives. The Belarusian authorities reacted by detaining journalists and activists who used terms such as 'persecution of the Polish minority' and interpreting their comments as 'incitement to ethnic hatred'. They refuse to recognise the persecution of the Polish minority, claiming that all citizens of Belarus, regardless of their ethnicity, are treated with respect and that the rights of all minorities are upheld.

The conflict has been used by the Belarusian government to justify legislative initiatives and amendments that restrict civil society and the right to peaceful protest. For example, a legislative initiative called 'On preventing rehabilitation of Nazism' was proposed and adopted in April 2021, which human rights activists consider part of the authorities' strategy to neutralise protest in Belarus. Another draft law, 'On the amendment of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Education', would give the government control over educational activities, including language courses, and other organisations managed and financed from abroad.

The diplomatic tensions and repressive legislation have had a detrimental impact on the relations between Poland and Belarus, with both countries enacting measures that negatively affect the other. The conflict has also impacted the Polish minority in Belarus, who have faced increased scrutiny and restrictions on their activities.

Poland's introduction of temporary sanctions

Poland and Belarus have had tense relations since at least 2005, when a conflict in the Union of Poles in Belarus, which represents the country's Polish minority, split the Union into two rival organisations. Belarusian authorities recognised one, while Polish authorities recognised the other. This led to the Polish minority becoming the most politicised minority in Belarus.

In 2020, following the Belarusian presidential elections, Lukashenka enforced a brutal crackdown on protesters. He then portrayed Poland as an enemy of Belarusian independence and territorial integrity, and the mastermind behind the protests.

On 28 February 2021, representatives of Poland's Consulate General took part in an event arranged by local Polish minority organisations. The event commemorated the so-called 'cursed soldiers' who, after World War II, were suppressed for resisting Communist rule. The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially condemned their participation, and the confrontation between Belarus and Poland escalated.

In response to these rising diplomatic tensions, the Belarusian authorities initiated repressive legislation that targeted civil society and protestors. However, they also affected national minorities in Belarus.

As a result of these actions, Poland introduced temporary sanctions against Belarusian officials involved in actions against Polish minority representatives.

The introduction of temporary sanctions by Poland was a direct response to the treatment of its minority representatives in Belarus. The sanctions were targeted at Belarusian officials involved in actions that Poland viewed as persecution of its minority representatives.

The sanctions were part of a broader deterioration in relations between the two countries, which included the closure of border crossings, restrictions on vehicle access, and the banning of transporters from each country from entering the other's territory.

The sanctions and the broader conflict have had significant economic and humanitarian impacts, with truckers and businesses experiencing delays and disruptions at the border. The conflict has also resulted in a migration crisis, with thousands of migrants stranded at the Polish-Belarusian border, facing dangerous and life-threatening conditions.

Belarus granting asylum to a fugitive Polish judge

Tensions between Poland and Belarus have been escalating for years, with Poland accusing the Minsk regime of orchestrating a migration crisis along their mutual border, violently crushing dissent, and backing Russia's war in Ukraine. In November 2024, these tensions increased further when Belarus granted asylum to a fugitive Polish judge, Tomasz Szmydt, who was facing espionage charges in Poland.

Szmydt, a former judge at the Warsaw Administrative Court, fled to Belarus in May 2024, citing his disagreement with Poland's "harmful and unjust" policy towards Belarus and Russia. He claimed that Poland was being led to war with its neighbours and appealed to the Polish authorities to normalise relations with Minsk and Moscow. Szmydt's defection came as a shock to Poland, which has a history of distrust of Russia, and raised concerns about the sensitive information Szmydt may have shared with the Kremlin-allied country.

In response to Szmydt's request for asylum, Belarus's autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, published a decree describing Szmydt as being "prosecuted for political reasons" in Poland. This decree granted Szmydt asylum and sparked a bitter political row in Poland over the circumstances of his rapid ascent through the ranks of the Polish justice system. Polish officials, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk, denounced Szmydt as a traitor and launched an investigation into the potential harm of his knowledge of classified information.

Szmydt's flight to Belarus and his subsequent praise of the Lukashenko regime shed light on the increasingly strained relationship between Poland and Belarus. Poland has accused Belarus of using migrants as human weapons and engineering a migrant surge at the border to pressure the EU into lifting sanctions. Additionally, Poland has supported democracy actions in Belarus and offered refuge to repressed Belarusian dissidents, further straining relations between the two countries. Belarus, on the other hand, has relied on Moscow's support and allowed Russia to use its territory for military purposes, including sending troops and weapons into Ukraine and deploying tactical nuclear weapons.

The granting of asylum to Szmydt by Belarus adds another layer of complexity to the already tense relationship between the two countries. With Poland considering Szmydt a traitor and Belarus portraying him as a victim of political persecution, the situation remains unresolved and contributes to the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Poland and Belarus.

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