Andrzej Poczobut announced on 27 August in Olsztyn that he would return to Belarus in September, although the Minsk authorities do not give him any guarantees of security. The writer wants to participate in the union of Poles in Belarus and support the countrymen. For Poland it is simply a test of the real protection of their number abroad.
Return to Grodna despite the risk
Andrzej Poczobut confirmed during the Campus Polish Future in Olsztyn that he intends to return to Belarus in September. Answering the question of 1 of the participants, he admitted explicitly that no 1 would warrant him how the Belarusian authorities would behave. Still, he doesn't quit. He wants to be with people he's already paid for years in prison.
The plan didn't come up now. Pochobut spoke about it earlier, pointing to the 11th legislature of the Union of Poles in Belarus, planned for 13 September in Grodno. In July, he emphasized that his home was there. The return has a individual dimension, but its core remains the work for the Polish community.
Five years of Belarusian captivity
The writer was detained by the Belarusian service in March 2021. In 2023, the court sentenced him to 8 years of penal colony in a trial considered political. He regained freedom in April 2026, after more than 5 years of isolation. The president of the Council of Ministers then informed about his release and arrival in Poland.
This experience takes distant his declaration of any seemingly empty gesture. The chochobut knows the price of action in the state of Alexander Lukashenka. He besides knows that repression of independent Polish organizations, media and historical memory is not a past. A fresh ban on a Catholic weekly in Belarus recalls that Minsk inactive treats the free Polish word as a threat.
Polish interest needs preparation
Warsaw cannot number on Minsk's goodwill. A plan is needed, including consular contact, documenting possible harassments and prompting of global pressure. The presence of Polish diplomats alone will not remove the threat, but failure to prepare would be neglect. Regimes check whether there is simply a real state power behind the citizen and the Polish community, or just an occasional message.
The continuity of interest is besides important. The Polish Union in Belarus has been under force for years, and its members request permanent legal, media and organizational support. Poland's right state does not end on the border line. It besides includes the safety of those who hold Polish language, culture and memory in a country which restricts their freedom.
Courage does not relieve the State of its obligation
The decision of Pochobut deserves respect. However, we must not turn it into a comfortable communicative about a single hero, after which Polish institutions will limit themselves to words of recognition. The citizen and activist of the Polish number returns to the regime, which erstwhile took over 5 years of his life. Warsaw must prepare diplomatic action, constant monitoring of its situation and a clear consequence to possible further repression.
The substance is bigger than 1 man's fate. Poles in Belarus must know that the Polish state remembers them besides erstwhile the interest in cameras disappears. The credibility of the Republic is measured by the protection of compatriots abroad, especially under a hostile regime. The Pochobuta motion is simply a evidence of faithfulness. Now the work lies with Poland.
Source: WP News, Polish Press Agency, Office of the Prime Minister
Source: WP News
