Poland To Ask Belarus To Explain Entrance Denial

12 December 2005 -- Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will ask the Belarusian ambassador to Warsaw for a formal explanation why an aide to the Polish premier was refused entry to Belarus.

Michal Dworczyk, who advises Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz on the situation of ethnic Poles abroad, said Belarusian border guards turned him away yesterday when he tried to enter the country at Kuznica Bialostocka.

Dworczyk had planned to meet with allies of Anzhelika Borys, the leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus. Authorities in Minsk do not recognize Borys as the legitimate head of the organization.

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka accuses Poland of encouraging Poles in Belarus to oust him from power.

Also today, Prime Minister Marcinkiewicz told the Belapan news agency that the new Polish government is eager to pursue a more active policy on Minsk.

(Belapan)