SMOLEVICHI DISTRICT, 20 April (BelTA) – In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, people should not be discouraged from going to church, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he visited the Church of the Annunciation in Malye Lyady village in Smolevichi District at Easter on 19 April, BelTA has learned.
While talking to the churchgoers the head of state noted that he never hides anything. In his words, this is nearly impossible in politics. “I should tell you that I do not support those who closed the path to the church for people. I do not welcome such a policy. More than that, you know my position: we experience these viruses every year,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president recalled that millions of people pray to God, many of believers are very powerful people. “I know many of them. However, amidst this psychosis (not even the disease), everyone rushed away from church, instead of rushing to church. It is not good. However, this is my view, and I am not forcing anyone to accept it. I just believe that one should always act appropriately and accordingly: if you need to wear a mask, put it on, if you need to protect yourself in some other way, just do it. However, act accordingly,” the head of state urged.
Aleksandr Lukashenko added that people come to church to ask God to help them, however not all of them behave in line with commandments: they are careless about nature, they abandoned moral values and are ready to do anything for money. “It is not okay. I think that He smacked us upside the head because we probably deserved it. Some were hit harder, just look at the world, at the way this psychosis is evolving, just like a disease. More than that, some time from now we will see who is taking advantage of this situation to meet their goals. I have already said before that coronavirus has turned into politics; and I wanted our authorities and our people to realize it. People do not think about the disease and how to help each other, they think how to fence themselves off at the best. We keep saying that it is better to stick together, but we are acting in the opposite way. Therefore, you see what is going on and how some states are using these issues in their interests. There is worse to come,” the president said.
The head of state reiterated his stance: coronavirus will fade away, therefore it is time to think how to mitigate its impact. “It is hard to be alone in the world, in particular, when you are going against the flow. However, I took a decision not to close anything down and to keep working. How can one close down and stop working when peasants are sowing? If they do not sow, we will have nothing to eat. Those who closed things down, enlightened, powerful and democratic, started working again, reopened factories, plants, kindergartens and schools. However the death rates there are still pretty high: up to 600 people per day. Why did they put everything on hold then?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.
Belarus decided not to change its way of life dramatically: if peasants started sowing, let them do it, if workers go to a factory, let them work. “In other words, we should not change the way of life in these circumstances. Therefore I did not prohibit working the land. Neither did I order to close down factories or shut down borders. We have designated transport corridors and thousands of vehicles carry the necessary goods via our territory for us and from West to East, notwithstanding some issues,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
