BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/02/2006

Belarus accuses Czech Republic of subverting regime

PRAGUE, Feb 23 (CTK) - The Belarussian authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko has accused through state television the Czech embassy in Minsk of subversive activities, Lidove noviny (LN) writes today.

The television asserted on Sunday that embassy employees spread "propaganda material" among extremist groups, LN writes.

It says that the television's Panorama news programme shows a group of young people loading a car standing outside the embassy with a big quantity of some kind of pamphlets.

In another shot police detain the car crew, LN writes.

"This was accompanied by a commentary saying that it is propaganda material that we are spreading. It was claimed that we and our Foreign Ministry infringe on all international legal norms and that this is a gross interference in the internal affairs [of Belarus]," Vladimir Ruml, head of the Czech diplomatic mission in Minsk told LN.

He said that the material was made from an opposite building in which the military counter-intelligence service has its seat.

Ruml sent a protest press release to the Belarussian Foreign Ministry and to the embassies of other countries in Belarus.

The alleged propaganda material is in fact a U.N. resolution on human rights in Belarus that the Czech Foreign Ministry translated into Belarussian and that it offers to Belarussians with the consent of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, LN writes.

"People can come to us and take the brochure. In this particular case the people were activists who are linked to democratic parties. They take the pamphlets by hundreds and distribute them further," Ruml told LN.

The Czech Foreign Ministry will not probably react to the Belarussian television reportage.

"It has only been a media output. This does not exceed the scenario under which the Czech Republic has been painted as a country of subversive elements for a year," ministry spokesman Vit Kolar told LN.

The Czech Republic rather focuses on support to democratic forces in Belarus.

"It is not possible to fight with notes against the Lukashenko regime," Kolar said.

Ruml told LN that propaganda has been stepped up in Belarus as the March presidential election is coming closer.

"The situation has been much harder since January. I would say that it is worse and worse every day," LN quotes Ruml as saying.

Source:

http://www.praguemonitor.com/ctk/?id=20060223E00038

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