MINSK, 10 August (BelTA) – The authorities will not lay down shields but will protect the country and its citizens as long as possible. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he met with Sergei Lebedev, Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, CIS Executive Secretary, head of the CIS observation mission during the presidential election, on 10 August, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Police and military personnel did a very decent job. They are true patriots. Some fake piece of news says that in some city riot police laid down their shields. Let me clarify that it is an absolute lie. Common and simple folks. They said we will not lay down our shields, we are going to protect the country as long as possible.”
The president pointed out law enforcement personnel had had to protect not only citizens but representatives of the united staff of a presidential candidate. “They gathered up in some office. There were some opposition reporters with them. About 60 people all in all. We received a tip from them (someone over there was smart) that a crowd had congregated around the office. It was a crisis situation and one of them asked the authorities for protection. I instructed the KGB to immediately send the strongest military personnel over there and quietly keep an eye on the office to prevent any casualties. We were in luck that someone from the united staff called police and asked for protection. We protected them all night and still control the situation,” the head of state stated.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also talked about another fake piece of news: “A revolutionary came from Poland and was killed. We looked for the person all over the country and it turned out to be fake news! You see they need a victim to sacrifice. What are Belarusian parents thinking? There were also school students among the protesters. These puppet masters send them against the police and hide behind the backs of the protesters. We've apprehended these organizers – about 3,000 across Belarus, nearly half of them in Minsk. They were many drunk and intoxicated people among them. This is why we respond with force to prevent things from going up in flames. And the most dangerous piece of news from yesterday: crowds blocked 33 polling stations in Minsk after 20:00. They pressured people and didn't allow them to leave. I had to deploy army units to evacuate them. We had to protect even the Central Election Commission. So, they tried to pressure us everywhere. I warned everyone and the authorities managed to handle the crisis.”
According to the head of state, the response of law enforcement agencies was restrained but they had to use rubber bullets when the protesters tried to storm a police station and assaulted a police officer. “They acted like wild animals! This is why the situation at night was intense but police officers did a good job. We used army units and the presidential security service to evacuate election commissions from polling stations. What are those people guilty of? What is the guilt of the teachers and doctors, who organized the elections? There were 33 election commissions like that – we evacuated them without problems. They smoothly counted votes at polling stations and stabilized the situation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
