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Lukashenko offers his take on future role of Belarusian People’s Congress
MINSK, 20 August (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke about the future role of the Belarusian People’s Congress, the powers of which will be formalized in the new amended Constitution, as he honored representatives of defense, security, and law enforcement agencies in a ceremony on 20 August, BelTA has learned.
“We have young people in attendance here. They will continue building Belarus. Our generation has done a lot. With the new Constitution, the Belarusian People's Congress will give us, the current generation of top-ranking officials, a chance to step back and let the youth to the forefront. We will stand in reserve positions (the military will understand me) and keep an eye what is going on in the country. If some need arises, we must be ready to step in and help,” said the head of state.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the question is not in his alleged desire to stay in power to his last breath. “It is nonsense. I just want to live a normal life at least for a few years. I have not even seen it yet. Anybody who is an executive will understand me because he or she knows what the life of an executive is like. You are under a lot of pressure from morning till night every day. This is why the question is not about me, but about the future of the country,” the Belarusian leader said.
He also noted that it is important to guarantee a peaceful life for both representatives of law enforcement agencies and society as a whole: "What will happen to you? Okay, a new president comes to power (they promise a lot as they stand for election). They say power corrupts people. Let’s imagine he is like that and starts reforms, destroying everything we have built. What will happen to you, to people? Remember the mid-1990s? People were afraid to walk around Minsk wearing military uniforms. When I became president, I had to work hard to reverse the situation after those Shushkevich and nationalists. That shouldn't come back."
“We need to find a workable constitution. No dual power. The President needs to be the President, the head of state, and so on and so forth,” the head of state stressed.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the Belarusian People's Congress should be formed to represent the interests of the whole society. “If suddenly new people in uniform seize power (many such cases in the world, in more than one country), if there is a betrayal as in the case of Ukraine where the president abandoned his people and flew away, then the Belarusian People's Congress must convene and make all the necessary decisions,” the Belarusian leader said.
“Together we will decide on its functions and powers,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
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