The Czech government has approved a special fund of 10 million Czech crowns (381 thousand euros) to assist the independent Belarusian press and victims of the ongoing pro-demoncacy protests in Minsk. Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek underlined in a radio interview that the EU should temporarily restrict support towards President Lukashenko s government.

The Czech government has approved aid fund of ten million Czech crowns (381 thousand euros) designed to support the independent Belarusian press. According to Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, the aid will also be available to civilians who are persecuted or those who were injured during the ongoing protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the online English-language edition of Czech Public Service Radio reported on Tuesday.

„Our priority right now is to help the country s independent media, to offer legal assistance to people who have lost their jobs because they reported on how the presidential elections were rigged,” Petricek said. According to the foreign minister, the rest of the aid will be used to provide psychotherapeutic assistance to demonstrators who were arrested and abducted during the protests. In his interview with Czech public radio, Petricek underlined that the EU should temporarily restrict all direct EU support towards Lukashenko s government.

The Czech government has drawn a parallel between the protests playing out in the capital city of Belarus and the pro-democracy demonstrations that took place in the Czech Republic in 1968 and 1989.