Sources: Usava and Krautsova were removed by Polish services. The situation with Dzikavitski is different.
Interesting details have emerged about the situation concerning the non-invitation of some Belarusian emigration figures to the reception with the President of Poland.
Representatives of the Belarusian emigration at a meeting with the President of Poland Andrzej Duda in January 2024. Between Pavel Latushka and Yuras Gubarevich — Pavel Usau. Photo: social networks
A separate New Year's reception for Belarusians is a symbolic annual event, the tradition of which was initiated by the past President of Poland, Andrzej Duda. Businessmen, representatives of the political and cultural elite gathered there. In past years, only a narrow circle of invitees knew about it — as with other similar diplomatic events.
The public resentment of the former director of Belsat, Alexei Dzikavicki, that he was not invited to this year's reception, attracted increased attention to the event and the guest list.
«The preparation of receptions and the artistic part on the Belarusian side is traditionally handled by the representation for national revival of the United Transitional Cabinet — now it is Irena Katsialovich and Pavel Barkouski. The lists of guests are formed jointly by the Polish and Belarusian sides.
The final decision on the list of participants remains with the Polish side. Proposals from the Belarusian side are far from always accepted,» — wrote on Facebook Franak Viachorka, advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, trying to explain the situation.
It is noteworthy that the reasons for not inviting are different for different people. This became known to Nasha Niva from three sources.
In general, the number of people invited to the reception this year has been significantly reduced. This may be due to the general course towards economy. At the same time, many famous political prisoners were released last year. It was them that the employees of the United Transitional Cabinet preferred, who compiled the «list of proposals from the Belarusian side.» Therefore, some of the guests from past receptions did not get into the preliminary list. Among them is Alexei Dzikavicki, who previously headed the Belsat TV channel. Nevertheless, since the final word is with the Polish authorities, he was eventually added to the list of invitees.
A completely different case is with Pavel Usau and Ivan Kravtsov. They were on the «Belarusian proposal list», but they were crossed out by the Polish services.
Pavel Usau is a political scientist who has lived in Poland since the mid-2000s. He has consistently joined the opposition force that opposed a single opposition leader. When Milinkevich was the leader of the democratic opposition, Usau joined the «Charter» that was undermining Milinkevich. When Tsikhanouskaya became the leader, Usau first tried to encourage Pavel Latushka to compete with her, and then became the right hand of Zianon Pazniak.
In 2020, Ivan Kravtsov was in the headquarters of Viktar Babaryka. He was driving the car when Maria Kalesnikova jumped out of the car and tore up her passport at the border. Now Kravtsov is the secretary of the Coordination Council.