The authorities of the education department of the Hrodna City Executive Committee did not allow the holding of Christmas meetings at schools with an optional study of the Polish language.
The festivities were prohibited due to the fact that such meetings with children have traditionally involved the staff of the Consulate General of Poland, Catholic priests and representatives of Polonia organizations operating in Belarus.
The decision was made on the orders of the Regional Directorate of the KGB, whose members deemed the Christmas meetings ideologically dangerious. Such actions, according to the Chairman of the Hrodna office of the officially unrecognized Union of Poles Pavel Kmetsik, are fomenting ethnic and religious hatred:
“This is nonsense. This is a division of children. I do not even know the thoughts were of the people who forbade the festivities. It turns out there is a good faith and a bad faith. And this will never lead to good things.”
Starting with the new school year, the Hrodna authorities have significantly limited the optional study of the Polish language in secondary schools. In addition, the only Polish language group in the kindergarten #83 was closed. Many teachers of the Polish language had to meet with the KGB officers who tried to force teachers to abandon the teaching of the Polish language by threats.
