Belarus on Tuesday said it had expelled a Polish consul from the country, after he participated in an event dedicated to Poland’s “cursed soldiers” who fought against both German and Soviet occupation during World War II.
“The heroisation of war criminals is for us completely unacceptable,” the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement concerning the expulsion of Jerzy Timofejuk, the Polish Consul in the southwestern city of Brest, AFP reported.
According to the announcement by Belarus’ MFA, Timofejuk attended an unofficial event on February 28, dedicated to the day of Polish World War II-era resistance fighters, which Belarus has found guilty of “war crimes” and “genocide” against ethnic Belarusian people.
The Polish consul participated in the event together with “representatives of non-governmental organisations and youth organisations associated with Poland,” according to Belarusian authorities.
The term “cursed soldiers” is used to describe resistance battalions that fought against the German occupation of Poland, and which, later in WWII, took up arms against the Soviets, also attacking against non-Poles and especially Belarusians.
Reacting to the move, Poland’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the country “will respond promptly and in accordance with the principle of reciprocity to this unfounded decision.”
