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Yesterday evening TV debate took place in Poland. Presidential candidates Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Bronislaw Komorowski met face-to-face for the first time in this election campaign. They are the candidates who reached the second round. Representatives of the election headquarters of the both candidates have agreed upon the form of the debates, in accordance with which candidates were asked by journalists. Questions touched upon the three spheres: social, economic and foreign policy issues.
One of the issues to which Kaczynski and Komorowski were to answer within three minutes concerned the policy towards Belarus. Journalists reminded that according to the official data, 400,000 Poles live in Belarus, and Lukashenka’s regime persecutes the Poles. Which policy towards the Belarusian regime would be chosen in this situation by the new president: the policy of negotiations, a visit at the governmental level, or the policy of isolation and sanctions?
The former Prime Minister of Poland stated: “I know that to talk with the regimes like Lukashenka’s regime, is worthwhile only when argument of pressure and all kinds of incentives are also present. Law and Order Party had been carrying out the policy exactly like that. And unofficially, totally unofficially, we carried out negotiations with some representatives of this regime”.
Kaczynski underlined that the Polish authorities must defend Poles abroad, and at the moment exactly the Poles in Belarus need as wide defense as possible, and any president must do that.
And finally Jaroslaw Kaczynski stated: “This is the issue which is also to be discussed with Moscow, and when President Medvedev would visit us, and I would be a president, I will raise this question certainly. Though Belarus is a separate state, this question could be discussed”.
Bronislaw Komorowski immediately responded to the concluding words of his opponent. “It is an unprecedented idea to talk with Moscow about Belarus. I totally disagree with that. It contradicts Polish interests completely, and in general it is not accepted in the international policy. It is the same thing as if Belarusians would plan to talk about Poland’s problems with Moscow or Berlin,” Komorowski stated.
He stressed that Belarus’ problem is a real challenge which the West cannot meet too. “We must primarily influence on the policy of Europe, to speak in a louder voice in the negotiations with Lukashenka,” believes the candidate for presidency of the currently leading party of Poland.
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2010/6/28/30190/
Who had the best arguments?
And what do you think should be done about the oppressed Poles in Belarus?
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