In an online meeting, representatives of the parliaments of the Visegrád Four countries agreed that it is necessary to provide stronger support for the Belarusian opposition.
After the meeting, the Czech Senate President Miloš Vystčil added that the Senate could also invite representatives of the Belarusian opposition.
“Given the historical memory that all Visegrád Four states have, it is our key interest to support people who want freedom and democracy,” said Vystrčil.
The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Radek Vondráček, confirmed that the countries have a unified stance towards Belarus.
“We must not stop putting pressure on Belarus. The basis for someone to rule must be free elections,” Vondráček stressed, mentioning President Miloš Zeman’s idea that Belarus should at least recalculate the votes from last year’s presidential election.
According to Vystrčil, chairmen of the foreign committees of the V4, parliaments should prepare a plan on how to support democracy in Belarus and invite representatives of the Belarusian opposition.
“It would be best if we would act together and thus increase the pressure because today no one pays attention to Belarus,” said the president of the senate.
Vystrčil also stated that the International Visegrád Fund could provide more support to Belarusian students, who are interested in studying in the Czech Republic, for example.
“And after their return, they could help to strengthen freedom and democracy in Belarus and activate the opposition,” the Czech Senate president added.
Title image: Speaker of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Radek Vondráček at the online meeting with his V4 counterparts (Radek Vondráček / Facebook)
