Brian Bennet: Lukashenka is afraid of death penalty

The Belarusian dictator can’t let himself to ease the control over the elections.

The former UK’s ambassador to Belarus Brian Bennet said that in an interview to BBC.

According to him, it’s increasingly more complicated to hold sociological survey in Belarus, but their figures show that Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s support is from a quarter to a third of the voters. At the same time many people who oppose Lukashenka are afraid to go against the authorities in order not to lose their job or a study opportunity or just for their nose not to be broken and something worse not to happen to them. Having come to power in the outcome of the only democratic elections in Belarus’ history Lukashenka rigged all the following elections, Bennet thinks, Ravio Svaboda reports.

Answering the question about the situation in the Belarusian economy, the former ambassador highlighted the Russia’s role in supporting the incumbent regime through subsidized prices for oil and gas.

“Lukashenka is borrowing from everyone who is silly enough to give him money, including the INF. But he’s not carrying out privatization, he will never go for it, but he is gladly selling small pieces of the companies”, - Bennet says.

Briian Bennet also said that not only Lukashenka loves power, but also can’t let himself to lose it as some of the opponents of his regime disappeared in 1999 and 2000.

“They were apparently killed, but these murders are not being investigated. That’s why Lukashenka can’t allow himself to resign, because in this case he may face a trial and be punished with a death penalty”.

Brian Bennet was a UK’s ambassador to Belarus from 2003 to 2007. This year his book “Last European Dictatorship – Belarus under Lukashenka” was published.