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PM says int’l community should oppose Belarusian aggression in Japan

Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Facebook that Poland would ensure Krystsina Tsimanouskaya the opportunity to continue her sports career.
VALDRIN XHEMAJ/PAP/EPA

After Poland issued a Belarusian athlete a humanitarian visa on Monday, the prime minister has argued that the aggression of Belarusian services in Japan should be firmly opposed by the international community.

Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Facebook that Poland would ensure Krystsina Tsimanouskaya the opportunity to continue her sports career.

The sprinter was taken against her will to Tokyo airport by Belarusian services for critical remarks she had made against the Belarusian Olympic team’s coaches, but she refused to board the plane and alerted local police. She was later granted a humanitarian visa by the Polish embassy in Tokyo.

“We did not think that the need for solidarity with Belarusian sportspeople would arise in the course of the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” Morawiecki wrote. “The bandit-like attempt to kidnap the sportswoman, who is critical of the Belarusian regime, met with a swift reaction from Japanese police and Polish diplomacy.

“We ensure Krystsina Tsimanouskaya security at the Polish embassy in Tokyo and if needs be, we also ensure her the possibility to continue her career,” the post continued. “The aggression committed by the Belarusian services in Japan, and at the Olympic Games, which after all are a symbol of peace and fair play, should be met with the firm opposition of the international community.”

Tsimanouskaya said on Sunday that due to her critical remarks against her country’s sports authorities, she had been withdrawn from competition in the Tokyo Olympics and officers had tried to force her to fly back to Belarus via Istanbul.

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