DISINFO: Warsaw is silent to the Minsk's appeals due to its involvement in the anti-Belarusian coup
SUMMARY
The goals of Minsk [in the border crisis] are simple and not very demanding. Belarus wants the European Union to recognise its authorities, stop organising the coup d’etat and restore normal economic relations. Otherwise, it is able to plunge Europe into a serious humanitarian crisis, which was triggered by the aggressive Western wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.
Why do the Polish authorities remain deaf to the Belarusian appeals? The implementation of the Belarusian demands will not harm Poland in any way. The answer to this question may be the Polish involvement in the unsuccessful coup in Belarus. The information war against Belarus is waged not only by propagandists from the Belsat TV channel but also by a number of institutions such as the “Belarusian House” and the association of the former Belarusian servicemen [ByPol]. The Polish authorities support all these forces, despite the fact that they do not bring any benefits.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the migration situation on the EU-Belarus borders.
The claims that Poland was involved in the anti-Belarusian “coup” and it wages an “information war” against Belarus are ungrounded. The protests in Belarus erupted to contest the results of the presidential election on 9 August 2020, which were not monitored by independent experts, and are largely considered fraudulent by both international observers and a big part of the Belarusian society.
The EU member states perceive the situation in Belarus in a unanimous way, appealing to the Belarusian authorities to stop violence, release political prisoners and organise democratic elections in Belarus. On 12 August 2020, the Parliaments of Poland and the three Baltic States presented a joint statement protesting against political repressions taking place in Belarus and appealing to organise free and democratic elections in this country.
The current developments on the border were caused by Belarus as a response to EU sanctions imposed on Minsk for its oppressive measures against the political opposition. There is plenty of evidence that the Belarusian authorities have instigated the ongoing irregular migration flows to the EU borders via Belarus.
The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that situation on the EU-Belarusian border is not a bilateral issue of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus but a hybrid attack against the whole EU. The vice-president of the European Commission and high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy (HRVP) Josep Borrell stressed that responsibility for the migration crisis falls on the Lukashenka regime.
See our earlier articles on the Belarus migration situation here and here.