POLAND: SNAPSHOT OF BIALYSTOK, NEAR THE BELARUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000377

SIPDIS

FOR EUR/CE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON SOCI PL BO
SUBJECT: POLAND: SNAPSHOT OF BIALYSTOK, NEAR THE BELARUS
BORDER

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR DAN SAINZ FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D
)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Local and regional officials in Poland's
northeastern Podlaskie Province -- located along the
Belarusian border -- told us April 1-3 that residents still
viewed the U.S. as Poland's main security guarantor but have
been shifting their focus towards the EU over the past five
years. Many believe the U.S. "undervalues" Poland as a
strategic partner, citing Poland's exclusion from the visa
waiver program. On the economic front, officials assert that
the region is weathering the global financial crisis
relatively well, but the social welfare system is strained by
unemployed Poles returning from abroad. Local officials
described relations with regional Belarusian counterparts as
increasingly warm and productive, but complained of
stone-walling by senior officials in Minsk. END SUMMARY.

SHIFTING FOCUS TOWARDS THE EU, FEELING UNDERVALUED BY THE U.S.
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2. (C) Officials in Bialystok, capital of Podlaskie Province,
characterized the U.S. as a vital partner for Poland,
particularly in the security sphere, but said the focus of
the region's population had been shifting towards the EU
since Poland's 2004 accession. Provincial Speaker Jaroslaw
Dworzanski -- a member of the ruling Civic Platform (PO) --
argued that the U.S. was no longer the "golden destination"
for local residents and therefore interest in the United
States was waning. Governor of Podlaskie Province Maciej
Zywno (PO) noted that young people were increasingly
traveling to Europe rather than the U.S. for vacation,
studies, and work, mainly because of the EU,s proximity and
visa-free travel regime.


3. (C) Many interlocutors in Bialystok claimed the U.S.
undervalued Poland as a strategic ally. Local officials,
professors, students, and journalists in Bialystok repeatedly
cited Poland's exclusion from the U.S. visa program as the
most tangible evidence of the U.S. "not taking us seriously
as a partner." Dworzanski, as well as several college
professors, said there was considerable public disappointment
with the government's decision to buy F-16's, which the
professors portrayed as "broken planes that shouldn't have
been sold to a NATO partner." In addition, city council
members from all major political parties expressed
disappointment that Poland's deployment in Iraq had not
yielded economic benefits for Poles.

WEATHERING THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
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4. (SBU) Regarding the economic situation, local and regional
officials said Podlaskie Province was "taking some punches,"
but weathering the global financial crisis fairly well. The
main challenge local officials face is the increasing strain
on social welfare services resulting from the return of
unemployed Poles from abroad. In addition, large firms that
had failed to restructure are now being forced to close or
halt production.


5. (C) Provincial officials acknowledged that the poor
transport infrastructure in the Podlaskie province had
hindered the region's growth. Dworzanski said local
officials had faced an uphill challenge in learning how to
compete for and implement EU infrastructure funds, but now
they were much more effective. Bialystok is in the process
of issuing municipal bonds to cover its portion of the road
construction costs under EU requirements, but city council
members refused to speculate on whether the initiative would
succeed.

BELARUSIANS IN BIALYSTOK "WELL TREATED"
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6. (C) Belarusian Union leader Eugeniusz Wappa and other
members of the Belarusian community, which comprises 20-25
percent of the region's population, said they participated
fully in the political process, took advantage of increased
opportunities to learn Belarusian in public schools, and were
treated well by the Poles. On the political front, Wappa
said Belarusians play an influential role at the local level
but were poorly organized at the national and EU level. The
majority of Belarusians appear to support the PO, which has a
reputation in the province for being the party most tolerant
of minorities. Ethnic Belarusians occupy four of the 28
seats in the city assembly, according to Marek Masalki, who
represents ethnic Belarusians. Regarding President
Lukashenka, Bialystok Mayor Tadeusz Truskolaski observed that
a small minority of ethnic Belarusians strongly supported the

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Belarusian President and a small minority vocally opposed
him, but the vast majority remained silent on the issue.

LINKS TO BELARUS: LOW-KEY AND PRODUCTIVE
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7. (C) Local and regional officials in Bialystok said they
maintained friendly, productive, and low-profile relations
with Belarusian counterparts. They complained, however, that
relations took a noticeable turn for the worse when
higher-ranking Belarusian officials from Minsk get involved
in projects. Higher-ranking officials in Belarus are also
more hesitant to make decisions. Bialystok has a student
exchange program with Grodno (about 50 students per year),
and athletic exchanges with several cities in Belarus; the
city supports charitable work for children in Grodno, Minsk
and Lida.


8. (C) Bialystok officials complained that political and
economic cooperation with Belarus was disrupted by Poland's
accession to the Schengen zone. They advocated including
Bialystok in a visa-free travel zone with Belarus, but
predicted strong EU resistance. They noted that visiting
Belarusians sell black market gasoline, cigarettes, and
vodka. They also buy food and household products.

ORTHODOX CHURCH ON BIALYSTOK AND MINSK
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9. (C) According to Orthodox Archbishop Jakub, the Orthodox
Church's relationship with local and regional authorities has
improved significantly since the PO took power. The
Archbishop characterized relations with the previous Law and
Justice (PiS) government as "terrible." The PiS government
had dismissed government workers affiliated with the Orthodox
Church from jobs and frequently excluded the Church from
participating in public celebrations organized by local and
regional authorities. He said that current PO authorities
were working to make all religions and ethnic groups feel
included in the political process, a strong contrast from the
conservative PiS or left-wing parties.


10. (C) Turning to Belarusian President Lukashenka,
Archbishop Jakub said he met the Belarusian President and
found him to be imperfect, but not terrible. The Archbishop
argued that conditions in Minsk had improved considerably
over the past decade and that there were no mass emigrations
from Belarus. He downplayed charges by the Orthodox Church
in Belarus that the Lukashenka regime was overtaxing the
Church and extorting bribes for construction permits.

COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) As relations between Belarus and Poland gradually
warm, Podlaskie Province's ties with Belarus will also likely
deepen, given the region's proximity to the border and large
ethnic Belarusian population. Bialystok's leaders have the
opportunity to exert a positive influence on regional and
local Belarusian leaders by sharing their first-hand
knowledge of economic transition and democracy-building. At
a minimum, they are willing to share their insights on
Belarus with us on a more regular basis.
ASHE