“Yes, maybe I sat (in office) a little longer, maybe they show me not only on TV, but also on irons, teapots. Yes. But really only I can protect Belarusians now, “said Lukashenko, who has been the head of Belarus for 26 years. He refused to resign.
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He also ruled out dealing with the opposition’s coordinating council because he did not know “who these people are.”
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“They are not in opposition. Everything they offer is a disaster for Belarus and the Belarusian people. They want to break all our relations with fraternal Russia, they want us to have paid education and medicine, “Lukashenko said.
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He described seeing two causes of the current situation – external and internal. In the case of the outer one, it is supposed to be Americans operating through centers in Poland and the Czech Republic, and the inner reason, according to Lukashenko, is that “two new generations have grown up in Belarus” and a small class of “townspeople” have emerged who want to come to power.
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Asked about security brutal crackdowns on protesters, Lukashenko said it was “the first hot emotion of the time.” According to him, the riot police cannot be blamed for “defending their country from a lightning crisis”. The president admitted that he had been “humanly” insulted by the protests, but at the same time understood that part of the population had forgotten what the country was like twenty years ago.
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Asked why he was photographed with a gun in his hand in the first days after the announcement of the presidential election, he said he wanted to show the nation that “he did not run anywhere and was ready to defend the country to the end.”
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“I just won’t leave. I took care of Belarus for a quarter of a century. I just don’t throw it all away. In addition, if I leave, my followers will cut, “the president added.
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The current protests erupted in Belarus after the authorities declared the current head of state, Lukashenko, the clear winner of the August presidential election. The elections took place under non-standard conditions, when some opposition candidates could not participate, and traditional observers were also absent. Critics consider the result to be manipulated and speculate that the real winner was Sviatlana Cichanouska, who is now in exile.
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