MINSK, 26 January (BelTA) - A British journalist asked the Belarusian head of state whether alternative candidates can criticize the current government in Belarus, BelTA has learned.“In your countries candidates don't just criticize each other but denigrate each other. There are countries where the authorities are not criticized,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he talked to the media in Minsk on 26 January. “If you say that we have forbidden to criticize the authorities, please give us the facts. Give us the facts as to who issued the ban. We don't need bans and restrictions: either at the border or on people’s movements. We don't need them. We know that people support us because a bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush.”
The head of state noted that his program did not contradict the program of the Communist Party candidate. Why then should he criticize the authorities, the president wondered.
“Ms Kanopatskaya criticizes the current government, you are just out of touch with what’s happening in the country. She is against the presidential power. She stands for a parliamentary republic, privatization of enterprises, lands and so on. She pursues a completely alternative policy, the one the British would like to see in our country. But she does it in a civilized manner. Not the way they do in the United States,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
