English

Makey accuses Western media and politicians of “demonizing” Belarus

In an interview given to BelaPAN on Monday, Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey accused the Western media and politicians of applying double standards to Belarus and “demonizing” it.

“For example, an article published by a Czech newspaper during last month’s world hockey championship in Minsk describes its architecture as dehumanizing and oppressive, claiming that the city has no room for people,” Mr. Makey said. “The author writes that Minsk has a huge number of massive buildings and business centers surrounded by six-lane roads. However, go to New York and see if has any room for people. Or go to Brussels. It also has its fair share of massive structures that stand even taller than anything we have in Minsk.”

Mr. Makey expressed regret that the West uses “labels” such as “Europe’s last dictatorship” regarding Belarus. At the same time, many political figures and businesspeople who visit Belarus do justice to its achievements, he said.

One of the reasons negative stereotypes about Belarus are so pervasive may be that “we do not know how to promote what we’ve achieved,” Mr. Makey said. “However, we’re working at the state level to remedy the situation.”