Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has urged the Polish government not to close border crossings between the two countries.
“It is vital to keep Belarusians connected to Europe,” she said in a post on X, adding that people could not be left “behind the new Iron Curtain.”
Earlier on Sunday, Poland’s foreign minister said Warsaw was considering closing its remaining border checkpoints with Belarus to stem illegal immigration.
Poland says Belarus has been encouraging people from the Middle East and Africa to travel to Belarus and then cross illegally into Poland.
In 2021, EU accuses Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko promote influx Sanctions in retaliation.
Poland has closed four of six checkpoints on its border with Belarus in recent weeks.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Sunday: “We are considering closing all border crossings due to Belarus’ actions. Currently, we are studying the question of whether this will affect the Polish economy.”
“Moves to restrict border traffic due to the regime’s continued provocations should be directed at the dictator, not the people. We cannot leave Belarusians to their fate behind the new Iron Curtain,” Ms. Tikhanovskaya wrote in the post.
She was referring to the geographical divisions of Europe cold war Relations between Western countries and countries associated with or influenced by the Soviet Union.
In 2020, Tikhanovskaya ran against Lukashenko in the presidential election and became a symbol of the opposition. her husband was jailed By the regime.
She claimed victory in the polls, which were widely believed to be rigged, but was forced to flee into exile in Lithuania with her children the day after the vote.
She was later sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for treason and conspiracy to seize power.
