BREST OBLAST, 21 October (BelTA) – Belarus does not need any war today, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko told reporters when commenting on fake news about an allegedly secret and clandestine mobilization going in the country.
“Pay no heed to this wailing. We don't intend to go anywhere today. General Khrenin said it right and precise: if you don't want to fight us, then there will be no war,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
If someone brings a war to Belarusian land, then naturally everyone will rise up to defend the country, BelTA has learned. “What else can we do? If we want to protect our land, our home, our children. If we don't, then Hande hoch [hands up in German] and off we go. Everything is very simple. But no war today. We don't need any. If they come here, well, here we are training. You can criticize us for it, including me. But I believe that everything needs to be done, it is necessary to count on our own strength,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “I didn't deny it either. I've been preparing for war. For 25 years at least. I didn't invent the phrase: if you want peace, prepare for war. So I am preparing as the commander-in-chief. Because I will be the first to blame otherwise.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko suggested coming down to earth and explained how mobilization is organized. A person gets a draft notice or gets notified through other channels and comes to the local military registration and enlistment office. The office sends the person to an appropriate army unit depending on the person's military specialization. “Give me at least one example when a person was summoned to a military registration and enlistment office, was given a rifle, to put it bluntly, and was sent to an army unit,” the Belarusian leader suggested. “They should take a reality check and show to reporters where we've sent these people. And you will be free to go there and talk to them or attend training sessions. If there are any.”
The president once again reminded that in this case Belarus is learning from experience of certain shortcomings of mobilization in Russia. “They sent a draft notice to a person but the person is long gone. Some are dead and things like that. This is why the army has been instructed to use military registration and enlistment offices in order to polish the notification procedure first and foremost. It is not always possible to summon a person by sending a draft notice like in the old days. Which means they have to send an SMS or use radio or contact the employer and so on. In other words, they have to practice contacting the people we want to mobilize. Then once the person is found, he is summoned to the military registration and enlistment office, they look at him to find out whether he is fit for military service or not. That's the end of it, go and relax, man. This is the kind of mobilization we have: people get summoned, their parameters get measured, to put it bluntly, and they get back to work! What mobilization are you talking about?” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president explained that they are simply verifying and updating military records and it is done every year on a regular basis. Individual army units may be brought up to strength through test musters. “We've been doing it for years,” he stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked top army officers whether a test muster was in progress anywhere. He was told that none were.
The president also reminded that territorial defense is very important for Belarus and he had always paid close attention to it. “Everyone needs to learn how to defend their home. We've arranged tests for this purpose, too,” he said.
People's militia is another military branch based on rural councils. “In other words, everyone needs to know how to fight and how to shoot. As my mother would say: ‘Son, keep studying, you won't have to carry the knowledge on your back'. My family practices the same approach despite the fact that I am the president. All my children are military. Even the youngest one. They are getting ready to defend themselves and the country,” he said.
“You have to calm down. Everyone should keep doing their jobs if we don't want a war to happen,” Aleksandr Lukashenko urged.
