Photo: FB Henryk Wujec -- THURSDAY AT 1:30 PM MASS FOR THE HEALTH OF HENRYK WUJEC AT ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH: https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114883,26201786,henryk-wujec-ciezko-choruje-jest-w-szpitalu-jego-stan-pogorszyl.html -- HOŁOWNIA: AFTER WHAT I'VE SEEN IN THE MEDIA OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS, I WOULDN'T WANT TO RETURN TO THEM, DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE CALLS ON THE OMBUDSMAN TO DEFEND MEDIA INDEPENDENCE, GAWŁOWSKI HEADS SENATE COMMITTEE, PIS PROTESTS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/08/12/ -- FOR NOW, I PRAISE PiS POLITICIANS, ALTHOUGH THEY HAVEN'T GIVEN ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRAISE THEM FOR 5 YEARS - ADAM MICHNIK IN GW: “It is therefore good that words in line with the EU's value system, and not insulting phrases about ‘treacherous faces,’ ‘vulgar rabble,’ have been spoken by important PiS politicians. It is good that this time PiS politicians did not show the Belarusians the middle finger. I would only wish that they remember that besides Belarus, there is another country where millions of people prefer to hear about dialogue in the spirit of the Round Table than to witness police brutality against peaceful demonstrators and listen to the incitement against LGBT people. This is truly a sad spectacle both on the streets of Minsk and on the streets of Warsaw. But for now, I praise PiS politicians – although for five years they have given me no occasion for praise.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26202064,od-pieciu-lat-nie-dawali-mi-okazji-do-pochwal-ale-dzis-chwale.html -- ADAM MICHNIK PRAISES THE PIS GOVERNMENT FOR ITS REACTION TO PROTESTS - headline on WP. https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/bialorus-adam-michnik-chwali-rzad-pis-za-reakcje-na-protesty-6542157607680129a -- BELsat's REPORT ON THE THIRD DAY OF PROTESTS: https://belsat.eu/pl/news/trzeci-dzien-protestow-w-minsku-na-zywo/ Minsk, August 11, 2020. Photo Swieta Far/vot-tak.tv/belsat.eu -- AGNIESZKA ROMASZEWSKA ON FB: 1) Tsikhanouskaya was not brought to Lithuania as a result of negotiations with the Lithuanians, but was effectively delivered to their border by Belarusian services. 2) Lithuanians do not have good relations with Minsk, but rather terrible ones – among other things, due to the construction of a nuclear power plant for them near Vilnius, just across the border. 3) The USA had nothing to do with all of this and only yesterday likely noted who Tsikhanouskaya is. 4) The statement by the presidents was not written in Vilnius or in Lithuanian, and its tone was milder than the later statement by the prime minister because it was issued before the official results were announced and at the very beginning of the post-election night in Minsk, when protests had just begun. And how do I know all this? I will tell you as Mr. Jurasz does – well, I just know (though not from Lithuanian parliamentary sources). And what's more, as far as I'm concerned, I know all of this with complete certainty. -- ON THE ROLE OF THE WEIMAR TRIANGLE - TOMASZ BIELECKI IN GW: “In recent years, Poland has done little to increase the West's interest in Belarus, but – let's add for the sake of dismissing the temporary and unsuccessful efforts of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki – even under different governments, Warsaw would not have been able to arrange an extraordinary EU summit on Belarus at this time. Current cooperation with Lithuania is highly desirable, although at the same time the main direction of action regarding Minsk should – it seems – continue through the Weimar Triangle. This is especially Berlin, the strongest capital in the Union, which, regardless of Warsaw's greater or lesser involvement, pays close attention to Belarus and the future of the Lukashenka regime.” -- BIELECKI ON THE FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF SOUTHERN EUROPE: “What to do with Belarus? The policy of Europe, and therefore of the Union, which is constrained in foreign policy by the rule of unanimity, is a resultant of quite different concerns and interests towards the Union's eastern and southern neighbors. It may be difficult to realize this in Poland, but for example – the war in Libya, which is of no concern to Warsaw, seems to Italian or Spanish voters to be much more important than the 'new troubles' in the post-Soviet East.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,26201520,co-zrobi-unia-europejska-w-sprawie-bialorusi-lukaszenko-przestaje.html -- THE AUTHORITIES ARE STARTING TO RUN OUT OF STRENGTH - NIKITA GREKOWICZ IN OKO.PRESS REPORT: “Just a few minutes after 7:00 PM local time, when the protests began, the first arrests and beatings were recorded. Flashbang grenades were used. Rubber bullets were fired not only in Minsk, but also in dozens (!) of other cities. It seems that the police immediately resorted to using all possible means to pacify the demonstrators, intending to instill fear even in people who were only planning to leave their homes. However, the effect was the opposite. The more repression the riot police units used, the more people protested in other parts of Belarus. Through the Telegram messenger, demonstrators coordinated where they were most needed, how to avoid major police concentrations, or from which cities the police had departed to disperse protests elsewhere, and where, therefore, it was relatively safe to demonstrate.” -- OKO ON THE PRESENCE OF RUSSIAN "LITTLE GREEN MEN": “Early Monday night, footage was released showing military personnel with Russian insignia. This may have been another instance of Russia using its 'little green men.' This is perhaps the most disturbing information of the day. Belarus hosts important Russian military bases, and there have also been reports of Russian military vehicles crossing the Belarusian border, so the involvement of Russian soldiers in the current protests is unfortunately not improbable. Especially since the police forces have already exhausted most of their capabilities. In many places, the military would now have to be used to suppress protests. Already on Monday around midnight, buses and trucks from nearby military bases were heading towards Minsk.” https://oko.press/cichanouska-wywieziona-na-litwe-ale-protesty-nie-ustaja-wladzy-zaczyna-brakowac-sil/ -- THE WEST'S INDIFFERENCE WILL COST BELARUS DEARLY, BUT THE WEST WILL ALSO PAY A HIGH PRICE - JĘDRZEJ BIELECKI IN RZ: “The proposal by Mateusz Morawiecki to convene an extraordinary EU summit, even a virtual one limited to an hour or two, was supported only by small Lithuania. Neither Angela Merkel nor Emmanuel Macron called Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Left without support, the main rival of Alexander Lukashenka succumbed to blackmail by the Belarusian KGB and left the country. There was no serious financial offer from Brussels that could have opened the way to a compromise between Lukashenka and his opponents. Donald Trump, who is ready to intervene on Twitter even on insignificant matters, apparently decided this time that Belarus does not even deserve a comment limited to 280 characters. This indifference will cost Belarus dearly, but the West will also pay a high price for it. Its key asset: promoting freedom and human rights, will be called into question.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/308119901-Jedrzej-Bielecki-Bialorus-zostala-sama.html -- HER ATTITUDE SUDDENLY CHANGED THE STATE OF MINDS - JAGIENKA WILCZAK ON TSIAKHANOUSKAYA - writes in Polityka: “She did not openly criticize Lukashenka; she criticized the system and showed why it was time to change it. Her attitude suddenly changed the state of minds; people stopped being afraid to express their beliefs, they came to meetings despite the risks, they sang that if you want freedom, you have to fight for it. Jacek Kaczmarski's 'Mury' became the unofficial anthem of this election summer.” -- PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO STOP BEING AFRAID - CONTINUES WILCZAK: “Monday's protests are further proof that people are starting to stop being afraid. One thing is certain: this is already a different Belarus. Lukashenka's Belarus, ruling ever more autocratically, convinced of his infallibility, is now passing into the past. For a moment, people felt agency, they went through a quick course in building a civil society, they remembered what democracy is. They lost all of this under Lukashenka's leadership, even the right to their national flag and constitution. For years, they lived with this or pretended not to see what they had been deprived of.” -- TIME FAVORS BELARUSIANS, LUKASHENKA'S TIME HAS BEGUN TO PASS - JAGIENKA WILCZAK'S CONCLUSION: “However, time favors Belarusians. Europe looks on favorably, even when it doesn't show excessive activity. America is on their side; it certainly would not support the use of force. Russia does not need to intervene in Minsk today. Even if Lukashenka does not give up power now, his time has begun to pass. The passing may take some time, but it doesn't have to; the end may come sooner than anyone expects. If the Belarusian opposition does not waste this chance.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/1966994,1,to-juz-jest-inna-bialorus-ludzie-przestali-sie-bac.read -- POLAND MUST BE AND IS ACTIVE - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “Poland's interest in Belarus's affairs stems from obvious reasons: it is our neighbor, several hundred thousand Poles live there, and Belarus's fate is geopolitically crucial for us. Support for democratic processes and for the opposition, suffocated under the boot of authoritarianism, is also understandable. This stems from traditional Polish reflexes, but also from the legacy of 'Solidarity' and our experience of fighting for freedom. We know what brutal 'realpolitik' tastes like when one is a victim. That is why Poland must be – and is – active.” -- HOWEVER, WE MUST KEEP A COOL HEAD - CONTINUES KARNOWSKI: “At the same time, however, we must keep a cool head. Primarily because we do not know the answers to two fundamental questions. Firstly, whether the Belarusian opposition is capable today of ensuring at least a shaky independence for Belarus. And secondly, whether it represents only itself, or whether its successes also result from some broader game.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/512976-musimy-zachowac-chlodna-glowe-wspierac-ale-i-pytac -- THE REGION HAS REVIVED, THERE IS COOPERATION - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON CZAPUTOWICZ'S SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVE: “Many underestimated, but calmly and consistently pursued, the regional policy of Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Jacek Czaputowicz is yielding very good results. We have the emphasis on the Three Seas Initiative, a vibrant Visegrád Group, increasingly well-functioning Poland plus the Baltic states format, and finally the recently launched Lublin Triangle (Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine). Of course, these are also vectors of action for the president and the government, but the fact is undisputed: the region has strongly revived, there is real cooperation.” -- KARNOWSKI ON TIGHTENING TIES WITH LITHUANIA, LATVIA, AND ESTONIA; “It is worth hearing these voices. Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania better hear the roar of tank engines over the horizon. They know that everything must be done to make it unprofitable for any potential aggressor. Therefore, there is no doubt there about how crucial for the security of the entire region is the policy pursued by the Polish authorities since 2015 aimed at strengthening NATO's eastern flank, including by bringing American soldiers to Poland.” -- KARNOWSKI ON THE WORDS OF ONE OF THE KEY GENERALS DURING THE PO-PSL GOVERNMENT: “It is also worth, for contrast, to refer to an interview with one of the generals who was the most important commander of the Polish army during the PO-PSL government. His vision of Russia, which will crush us like an elephant crushes an ant, which is a superpower and which, above all, 'should not be provoked,' is simply staggering against this backdrop.” https://wpolityce.pl/historia/513066-mocny-przekaz-z-lotwy-historia-sie-nie-skonczyla -- MOST MEDIA HOUSES AND LARGE CORPORATIONS, FOR IDEOLOGICAL REASONS, EXCLUDE RIGHT-WING MEDIA - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “Are we, as 'Newsweek' claims, 'drowning in advertisements from state-owned companies'? That's nonsense. In reality, we are illegally and brutally discriminated against in the advertising market – most media houses, large corporations, for ideological reasons, ignore our readers, disregarding very good sales and readership figures. The demand that these few companies, including those with state capital, that do not succumb to this terror, join the ranks of those excluding us, is an encouragement to tyranny.” -- KARNOWSKI ON LIBERAL MEDIA POSSESSING BILLIONS: “It is worth emphasizing: we all work for very modest salaries, in difficult conditions, we count every zloty several times over. Our budget is well below 30 million PLN per year – counting paper, rent, signal transmission fees, taxes, etc. For comparison: recently (although before the crisis), Agora alone announced that it would spend almost a billion PLN on investments over two years. German media for Poles also have billions at their disposal! Media is not a cheap matter, but here is the true picture of the resources we have. We are ants compared to elephants. The fact that someone nevertheless believes that we are 'co-authors of Law and Justice's electoral success' (although we don't fight for any party, but for pro-Polish values!) is a great compliment in this context.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/512941-wedlug-newsweeka-to-panstwo-zdecydowali-o-wyniku-wyborow -- MARIUSZ KAMIŃSKI IS NOT ONE OF THE HARDLINERS ON LGBT ISSUES - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW: “It is characteristic that in the matter of recent events, mainly the head of the Ministry of Justice and his people are speaking out. They organize press conferences to have appropriate television coverage. The rest of the United Right politicians are not very expansive. They only defend themselves when a question is asked on television programs. Sometimes they write something on social media. Although the opposition's accusations largely concerned the police, the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Mariusz Kamiński, is absent. Perhaps the reason is that in the corridors of PiS, there is increasing talk about the minister's personal problems and his potential resignation, which Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki advocates for. But the reason may also be that Kamiński, with his worldview, is not among the hardliners fighting against LGBT.” -- ZIOBRO NOW HAS SOMETHING TO ANNOUNCE ON EVERY TOPIC - CONTINUES WIELOWIEYSKA: “Ziobro has something to announce to the public on almost every topic. Almost like the prime minister. He has solutions for scooters on the roads. He wants to increase control over non-governmental organizations, which Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński disagrees with.” -- WIELOWIEYSKA ON GLINSKI'S COUNTERARGUMENT: “Deputy Prime Minister Gliński harshly assessed Ziobro's action regarding the Istanbul Convention. 'The matter of the Istanbul Convention is somewhat of a media-political ploy. We are, of course, against the ideology that lies behind this document, we are also against domestic violence, which we vigorously combat with Polish law. But we are also against crises like the one surrounding the IPN law, which did not benefit Poland, to put it mildly... A politician has an obligation to act reasonably and effectively, not just loudly and for the crowd,' assessed Gliński in the latest issue of 'Sieci' weekly. The crisis related to the IPN law is the responsibility of Ziobro's associate, former Deputy Minister of Justice Patryk Jaki, so the implication of the interview is obvious.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26202049,ziobro-prawie-jak-premier-w-rzadzie-ogon-macha-psem.html -- JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ ON SOLIDARNA POLSKA STIRRING UP THE ATMOSPHERE - writes in RZ: “Ziobro is cynically escalating a new division, reaping political rewards. PiS is temporarily gaining from a diversionary topic (although the problem is real and should be treated seriously), because the real beneficiary of the culture war is Solidarna Polska. It is Ziobro and his deputies from the Ministry of Justice, as well as Patryk Jaki and Janusz Kowalski, who are the most vocal on issues concerning homosexual and transgender people. What will Kaczyński do? He cannot pacify Ziobro. He will play a tug-of-war with him. He will appease him during the reconstruction. He knows that the Prosecutor General holds great power in his hands through his official functions and will not hesitate to use it. It is an open secret that much information unfavorable to PiS leaks from the prosecutor's office to media unfriendly to the government precisely thanks to the minister's people. Ziobro is playing for more than a position of deputy prime minister or ministries for his people and positions in state-owned companies.” -- BRUDZIŃSKI DOES NOT WANT TO CEDE THE RIGHT FLANK TO ZIOBRO - CONTINUES NIZINKIEWICZ: “Brudziński is not a radical or a homophobe, but a pragmatist and a political cynic who does not want to cede the far-right flank to Ziobro, so as not to allow him to take over Kaczyński's succession. Solidarna Polska will push for more space within the United Right. Ziobro is rocking the government boat. He is encroaching on the competencies of the Minister of Interior and Administration, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, by responding sharply to the Council of Europe Commissioner regarding the release of 'Margot.' Ziobro's goal is also the political elimination of Morawiecki. And that will not succeed. Therefore, the Prosecutor General has launched a guerrilla war against Kaczyński. Ziobro has three years to build a strong position for his party before the parliamentary elections and five years to establish himself as the new president.” -- ALL THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR MINORITY RIGHTS AGGRESSIVELY AND VULGARLY, INSULTING RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS – ARE WORKING IN ZIOBRO'S THEATER – CONTINUES NIZINKIEWICZ: “All those who fight for minority rights in an aggressive, vulgar manner, insulting religious sentiments, generally socially unacceptable, strengthen Ziobro's position and play in Solidarna Polska's theater, rather than strengthening the rights of LGBT people, who deserve respect. 'Margot' has become a greater ally of Ziobro than LGBT people. Minority rights have become a party cudgel in the fight for political influence. And in the background, the real dramas of LGBT people and their loved ones are unfolding.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/308119910-Nizinkiewicz-Ziobry-gra-o-rzad-dusz.html -- ON THE POSSIBLE TRANSFER OF ARDANOWSKI TO THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - MICHAŁ KOLANKO IN RZ: “The latest information from the corridors indicates, for example, a change in the position of the Minister of Agriculture. It is said that Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski is to move to the President's Chancellery. Changes in three areas: governmental, party, and legislative-strategic, will be the autumn 'new opening' for PiS and the entire United Right. In a dozen or so weeks, it will become clear how these ambitious plans have been realized. Because history shows that modifying the course of such complex organisms as political parties in power can be difficult.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/308119913-Kolanko-Jak-prezes-przebuduje-formacje.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Paweł Mucha, Bartosz Cichocki, Witold Sitarz, Wojciech Wilk, Stanisław Lamczyk.