Opinions & Interviews
Lukashenko: People of Belarus is the only master of Belarusian land
MINSK, 17 September (BelTA) – The Belarusian land has only one master: the people of Belarus. And it will continue to be that way. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement in a speech during the youth forum Youth. Belarus. Future on the occasion of People’s Unity Day, BelTA has learned.
The head of state pointed out that the world is getting redivided now and stressed that Belarus has to survive in these conditions while relying on its allies. He said he was confident that the pressure Belarus faces from the West is caused by the fact that Belarusians choose to preserve their legacy in the spiritual, cultural, and economic dimensions. At the same time people in the West sometimes write about Belarus’ history, its identity, and the innate feeling of respect for landlords.
“They want to enslave [the Belarusian nation]. Approximately the way our so-called government and offices in exile operate. Over the past 100 years, particularly in the past 30 years a lot of these offices in exile staffed by fugitives emerged,” Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out. “Princes, barons and other rulers on various continents, who still fail to understand that our land has only one master: the people of Belarus. I promise you that it will continue to be that way.”
“It was the people who brought me to power despite everything that was happening. And don’t you ever trust claims that Lukashenko is hanging on to power with all his might. May Lord have mercy on those, who say that. I am already as fed up with this power as possible.” There is only one question: are you capable of taking the country today and keeping it? If you are, do it tomorrow. Honestly speaking, I cannot give a positive answer to this question for now,” the head of state added.
The president remarked that the West continues accusing him of being a dictator. He is convinced that the accusation had been prompted by a series of the decisions Aleksandr Lukashenko made in the first few years of his presidency. One of them is the refusal to get rid of the excessive stockpiles of weapons according to agreements with the West. Back then Aleksandr Lukashenko essentially halted the destruction of the army when armored vehicles were cut into pieces and exported as scrap metal. Besides, the president confessed that he had not approved of the removal of nuclear weapons from Belarus’ territory. But it had to be done in the end, including due to pressure from Boris Yeltsin, who was the Russian president in those years.
“Back then I became a dictator because I opposed the entire ‘civilized world’. Frankly speaking, I am still getting criticized due to the construction of the nuclear power plant and due to other matters. Because we prepare the army for war in order to avoid one. Because we take a certain stance on Ukraine…” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded.
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