Relatives of Belarusians living in the Czech Republic will find it easier to obtain a Czech visa
There are no illusions regarding the Lukashenko regime, noted Hana Hubáčková, Director General for European Affairs of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a meeting with Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the NAM.
On the Czech side, the meeting was attended by the Czech Ambassador to Poland, Břetislav Dančák, and on the Belarusian side also by the head of the "Belarusian House in Warsaw" foundation, Ales Zarembiuk.
During the meeting, Pavel Latushka presented the two-track strategy that the democratic forces are proposing to their partners:
The US uses its mechanisms to stop the repression and secure the release of all political prisoners;
The EU, using sanctions and diplomatic mechanisms, insists on systemic change in the country and on the start of a dialogue between representatives of the functional authorities in Belarus and Belarusian society.
Hana Hubáčková noted that this is an approach the Czech Republic supports, because it is important to achieve systemic change in Belarus.
During the meeting, the parties agreed that, despite the release of political prisoners, the situation in Belarus has not changed, and the unprecedented level of repression continues every day.
Separately, the Director General for European Affairs of the Czech Foreign Ministry said that the Czech government is preparing a decision, to be adopted in the coming weeks, that will simplify the process of obtaining Czech visas for relatives of Belarusians living in the Czech Republic.
At the meeting, Pavel Latushka spoke about the activities of the institutions of the democratic forces and about the Coordination Council's delegations to the most important European inter-parliamentary institutions. He also spoke about the situation in Belarusian culture, which is being deliberately Russified by the Lukashenko regime with the Kremlin's support in order to change the mentality of Belarusians, and about the NAM's work on bringing representatives of the Lukashenko regime to justice.
Hana Hubáčková confirmed the Czech Republic's position of full solidarity with the democratic forces of Belarus and its readiness to continue its support, noting that the Czech Republic remembers what it is like when a country lives under a dictatorship and political prisoners are held in its prisons.
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