Czech Senate wants government to designate Belarus’ KGB, GUBOPiK backers of terrorism

February 15, BPN. The Czech Senate has advised the government to declare the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB) and interior ministry’s organized crime unit GUBOPiK organizations that support terrorism.

The suggestion is contained in a resolution on the continuing crackdown against civil society in Belarus, passed on February 15.

The resolution calls for sanctions against KGB and interior ministry officers, continuation of the Civil Society visa program, government scholarships to individual Belarusian students, and tools to effectively support civil society and independent media in Belarus and those forced to move abroad.

“All of us, the democratic forces, the Belarusian diaspora, the office and the cabinet, have been working on this,” Franak Vyachorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja, told BPN.

“If the Czech Republic and Lithuania recognize these organizations as terrorist organizations and sponsors of terrorism, this can create a domino effect, and other countries will take similar decisions,” he said.