Belarusians in Czech Rep. want minority status

Members of the Belarusian community in the Czech Republic would like to be officially recognized as an ethnic minority, the news website idnes.cz reported on Saturday. They have addressed several petitions to the Czech government; however, Czech officials said they would have to wait for the results of this year’s population census to determine how many Belarusians living in the country also have Czech citizenship, a prerequisite to be recognized as a minority. The other is the community’s historical roots in the country.

The Belarusian community in the Czech Republic is estimated to have around 1,000 members. The country officially recognizes 12 minorities, including Romanies, Slovaks, Ukrainians and others with the notable exception of the Vietnamese.

Author: Jan Richter