English

Lukashenka says that he wants all prosecuted ex-candidates to flee abroad

Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that he wanted all of his former presidential rivals who are facing trials over the December 19 post-election street protest in Minsk to flee abroad.

Speaking to the chief editors of 11 Russian media outlets in Minsk on March 18, the Belarusian leader referred to one of the former candidates, Ales Mikhalevich, who fled to Prague weeks after his release from the KGB detention center on his own recognizance. “I pray God that all of them flee, say, tomorrow. Let all of them flee. But they are not needed by anyone there. They are not needed here either,” he said.

He denied Mr. Mikhalevich’s claims of the use of torture in the KGB jail. “If only I received some information about torture, there would be no people left. [It is impossible] in our time, at the center of Europe, and on the whole what [should it be used] for?” he said.

Mr. Lukashenka reiterated his claims that the secret services of Poland and Germany had been involved in the organization of the anti-government demonstration, which ended in a brutal dispersal by riot police and mass arrests. He also said that his opponents were partially funded by sources in Russia.

According to Mr. Lukashenka, opposition forces get only about 10 percent of what is donated to them by the West, with the rest ending up in various foreign funds.

Mr. Lukashenka again described his political opponents as the country’s “fifth column,” attacking them for calling for international sanctions against Belarus. “Our fifth column, they laugh and say: they must introduce economic sanctions so that these Belarusians are made aware of whom they must support,” he said.

He warned that the authorities would remain “vigilant” as “no one will ever leave us alone.” “We are clearly aware of this, that’s why we are relying on our own resources. Things will never be easy for us,” he said. //BelaPAN