Ivan Kubrakov
MINSK, 12 November (BelTA) – After delivering a report to Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko Internal Affairs Minister Ivan Kubrakov talked to reporters about the situation concerning Lithuanian semi-trucks, BelTA has learned.
In his words, traffic police personnel have already escorted over 1,000 Lithuanian semi-trucks to dedicated guarded parking lots. The trucks had congregated near the border after Lithuanian authorities decided to close border crossings at the border with Belarus. Traffic police units from Grodno and Minsk, including the special unit Strela [arrow], were redeployed to help accomplish the task. All the parking lots are guarded by patrols of the Internal Affairs Ministry. “We ensure full security,” the minister assured.
He pointed out that all the vehicles, which had been located near the border, had been parked on the roads and road shoulders chaotically. “A very large number of trailers and semi-trailers were simply abandoned by drivers on the road. They represented a threat to traffic and possible causes for traffic accidents. All these trailers and semi-trailers had no lighting. They were not marked in any way. Naturally it could be a problem and could result in traffic accidents,” the internal affairs minister explained.
According to his data, 26 trailers and semi-trailers are still left on the road without drivers. “We are taking measures to identify the owners of these trailers. However, despite awareness-raising efforts in mass media nobody has turned up and has not evacuated them. I’ve given instructions to tow these trailers to the guarded parking lots,” Ivan Kubrakov stressed.
He also recalled that the president had previously instructed to provide all the necessary aid to the drivers that had landed in a complicated situation due to the decision by the Lithuanian leadership. “The questions they ask our officers vary from assistance with getting to a hotel, a public catering outlet to providing assistance with communication with relatives, with finding acquaintances in order to leave and stay with them temporarily,” the minister noted.
In his words, the drivers evaluate the situation adequately and make negative remarks about actions of Lithuanian authorities. “Very negative. They don’t restrain their speech,” the head of the Belarusian Internal Affairs Ministry clarified. “But the drivers have a normal attitude to the aid we provide. As the president formulated the task: treat them humanely and provide all the necessary aid. This is why we resolve even the issues that are not entirely related to the Internal Affairs Ministry.”
In accordance with its competences and the tasks formulated by the president the Belarusian Internal Affairs Ministry continues monitoring the situation near the border and ensuring road safety. “The patrols have been reinforced. All the territory around the site where the Lithuanian semi-trailer trucks are located is under our protection,” Ivan Kubrakov noted.
When asked to evaluate the situation near the border from the point of view of crime rate, the minister said: “Taking into account actions of Lithuanian and Polish authorities, we have beefed up public order protection in the adjacent territories. At present we fully control the situation. The keeping of public order is ensured. No incidents have been allowed to happen.”
Apart from that, the internal affairs minister informed the president about the current situation in the country. As before the situation remains under control, the internal affairs minister stressed. “The president formulated tasks concerning specific areas. All of them will be fulfilled in full,” he added.
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