Polish Charter is «moral compensation», ambassador says

The Polish Charter is a "moral compensation" offered to Poles who have been living abroad for a long time without support and attention of their home country, the Polish ambassador to Belarus, Henryk Litwin, said at an online questions-and-answers session hosted by BelaPAN's newspaper Belorusskiye Novosti on Wednesday.

The charter (Karta Polaka) means extensive privileges for the holder such as a free multi-entry visa and the rights to work, set up a company and study in Poland similar to those exercised by Polish nationals.
It is issued to former Polish citizens and those who have relatives of Polish descent, even in the fourth generation. Basic Polish skills are required.

Applications for it have been accepted since late March.

Mr. Litwin said that those willing to get the charter were applying to the Polish embassy either by phone or email to book a meeting with the consul as a result of which the procedure of the charter issue started if the applicant had requisite documents.

He said that it was yet premature to make any estimates on numbers of applicants. "People have problems with receiving documents confirming their ethnicity. Currently, it does not make sense to speak about numbers of people applying for the charter and receiving it. We will be able to assess the scale of the process in a year at the earliest," he said.

When asked about the existence of two unions of Poles in Belarus with one unrecognized by the Belarusian authorities, the ambassador said that the split no doubt made life difficult for the Polish ethnic minority in Belarus but noted that it was up to local Poles to tackle it. "We can only help. But the position of the 'official' union of Poles hardly contributes to efforts to overcome this split," he said.

The charter is issued for a period of 10 years with the possibility of extension for further 10 years upon application. It also entitles the holder to a 37-percent discount on rail travel in Poland.

The Karta Polaka law passed the Polish parliament in September 2007. It unexpectedly came under fire from the Belarusian state media and foreign ministry in February, with the latter alleging that its enforcement may "seriously destabilize interethnic relations in our country, spark tensions in Belarusian society, disrupt its stability and give rise to mistrust between Belarusian nationals of different descent."

The Belarusian foreign ministry renewed its attack on Warsaw after the embassy had started accepting applications. //BelaPAN