Major coup for Poles in Belarus

The European Union will decide this week whether to extend the current sanctions against Belarus. This prompts the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza to report on a meeting of Poles living in Belarus in the city of Grodno: "The Belarusian Poles have realised that they have accomplished something extraordinary. Despite the government's attempts to intimidate them the majority of delegates travelled to Grodno. … The regime didn't go all the way this time but it still locked up 51 of the delegates. This meant there was no quorum in Grodno, so the meeting was declared invalid. Minsk can't afford to do this kind of thing, especially considering that the European Union must decide today whether to extend the sanctions against Belarus for another six months. Polish diplomats have warned that their stance would depend on the success of the ZPB [Union of Poles in Belarus]."

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