US condemns desecration of Polish cemetery in Belarus

The United States has condemned the latest desecration of a Polish cemetery in Belarus.

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US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel said in a tweet: "We are alarmed at reports of Belarus' desecration of another cemetery dedicated to Polish fighters during World War II. We call on Belarus to respect the sanctity and preserve the history of these sites."

We are alarmed at reports of Belarus’ desecration of another cemetery dedicated to Polish fighters during World War II. We call on Belarus to respect the sanctity and preserve the history of these sites.

— Vedant Patel (@StateDeputySpox) August 26, 2022

He was tweeting after the spokesman for Poland’s foreign ministry, Łukasz Jasina, said on Thursday that a cemetery containing the graves of Polish World War II Home Army (AK) soldiers in the northwestern Belarusian village of Surkonty had been "devastated by the people of the Minsk regime.”

The Home Army soldiers' cemetery in Surkonty is devastated by the people of the Minsk regime. Those who think that the memory of heroes can be eradicated are very wrong. The regime will pay for these acts of barbarism. https://t.co/7MCggaDlB9

— Łukasz Jasina (@RzecznikMSZ) August 25, 2022

The Polish MFA strongly condemns the ongoing action against 🇵🇱 historical memory, organized by Belarusian usurper authorities.

The barbaric act of demolishing 🇵🇱 Home Army soldiers' cemetery in Surkonty will not be without a response from 🇵🇱's government. https://t.co/yREP1lg2sj

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) August 26, 2022

The vandalisation of the Surkonty cemetery was earlier reported by independent Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Giczan.

Residents of the village of Surkonty in north-western Belarus say that police and heavy machinery have arrived and started demolishing the graves of the Polish Home Army soldiers. If confirmed, this will be the largest Polish military cemetery destroyed by Belarus to date. pic.twitter.com/ubwYdwNz3u

— Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) August 25, 2022

In early July, the graves of Polish Home Army soldiers in the western Belarusian village of Mikulishki were “razed to the ground,” according to reports at the time.

(mk/gs)