Lithuanian government approves assistance plan for Belarusian opposition
The Lithuanian Cabinet approved at its meeting on Wednesday a plan to help the Belarusian opposition, said Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis.
"Today we have approved a plan to help the people of Belarus, who for several weeks have been expressing disagreement with the unfair results of the elections and are subjected to gross violence for this," he said. According to the prime minister, the approved plan is a sign of solidarity with the protesters. This is the first, but not the last step of our government’s help," Skvernelis said.
As part of the plan, 100 scholarships are allocated for students from Belarus to study at Lithuanian universities, and 100 thousand euros from the state budget is allocated for humanitarian aid. 200,000 euros is allocated to the European Humanities University, a private school established in Minsk in 1992, which was closed by the Belarusian authorities a few years later. The Lithuanian Cabinet also approved a simplified procedure for issuing Lithuanian visas to citizens of Belarus.
By September 8, the government has instructed the ministries to prepare additional proposals on aid tools and necessary funds, including the funds which need to be included in the state budget for 2021.