NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 1 March (BelTA) – Belarus' defense system has passed many tests and has never failed, national security expert Aleksandr Tishchenko said in a new episode of BelTA's YouTube project “After the Fact: Lukashenko's Decisions”.
“Belarus' national defense system operates well. It is viable, combat-effective, and efficient. Over the course of our history we've survived all kinds of challenges and the system has virtually never failed us,” the expert said. He noted that the defense system includes not only law enforcement agencies and the military but also civilian organizations. “In fact, the entire state system is geared towards national security interests. We are effective in this regard, we are ready for any possible manifestations of threats and challenges,” Aleksandr Tishchenko said.
The people's militia that is being formed in Belarus now will become another element of the national security system. “Time has come for that. We have not invented anything new. Many countries, including European ones, have been actively using people's militia for a long time. We have also matured for this. We are ready to use the people's militia in the security interests of the state,” the expert said. According to him, the people's militia will be used only where necessary, i.e. not in all regions. In order to join the people's militia, one needs to receive certain training.
Aleksandr Tishchenko noted that from the point of view of law enforcement, citizen patrols that existed in Soviet times can be viewed as a prototype of the people's militia. However, the patrols that were deployed on the border were not armed, but the functions they performed were very similar to those that are to be given to the people's militia. “The people's militia will be better trained and better equipped than citizen patrols. These patrols were used only to maintain public order in peaceful time, while the creation of the people's militia in Belarus was prompted by increasing military threats,” the expert said.
