MINSK, 9 September (BelTA) – In an interview with Russian mass media Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko stated he has to protect what generations of Belarusians have created, BelTA has learned.
According to the head of state, Belarus has changed greatly for the better in the last quarter of the century. “It is possible to build an enterprise and make any products, but things are much more difficult if you depend on weather, for instance, agriculture. This is why when I fly over the country, I rejoice because everything is in order, all the crops have been collected, all the fields have been tilled on time. It is our life. We don't have oil and gas. This is why [agriculture] is one of the main sources. You say Minsk is a clean and tidy city. Every Belarusian enterprise is like that. The country is spotless, pardon my immodesty,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president stated that Belarus had not simply changed but had become a totally different country. “I've straightened it out. It is one of the reasons I had an assault rifle. Not only because I am ready to defend it by all means. I have nothing apart from these accomplishments. If I had several billions in my pocket, I may have acted like Poroshenko did. Certainly unlikely but I think like that sometimes. But if I don't have these billions… This is why I am not afraid. I even say to my family: listen, children, if not today then tomorrow. Who knows when I die, when the Lord calls me (when they try to prevent me from doing something). I will pass away some day, but I will not allow them [the opposition] to destroy what we and people have created, what generations have created. This is what keeps me going. This is how the country has changed,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
A reporter asked for clarification: “Does it offend you as a human being? Because there are people, who don't remember due to their age, and people, who remember but don't appreciate how things were and how things are.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko responded: “It does offend me. It is tragic if you like. But it doesn't mean I've given up due to my philosophical view of things. The Lord will call me one day but I have to protect what has been created with our hands. I have to protect the people, who created it, the people – an overwhelming majority, who voted for me although they see me so much every day on television, in all kinds of media. They may be sick and tired of seeing me but they backed me up. It is what keeps me going.”
The head of state was also asked what the main thing in his life is after all the latest events in Belarus.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted: “Honestly speaking, I don't even know. Hard to say. My kids and the kids of the people, who stand with me. What keeps me going in this situation (you probably know it): if Lukashenko falls now, the entire system will fall and the entire country will follow suit. I think it will fall hard. Maybe someone would lend a strong shoulder. But things would be really hard. And these guys – riot police officers and the rest, who stand with me… What are they guilty of? But they will be cut up and slaughtered because you can see the kind of protesters we have. They are not kids. It is what keeps me going. I have a responsibility to these people. I have a responsibility to the calm pensioners, to veterans.”
