Alexander Lukashenko departs to Israel? :: Charter'97 :: News

On August 8 A.Lukashenko made up his mind to communicate with journalists. Especially independent ones, which was a bold action from is side, though it is a norm in the whole world. But dash it, the world. We have everything our own way, and we are proud of it, because there it nothing else to be proud of. The meeting was held almost “without ties”, in informal atmosphere – not a single Russian channel had been accredited, so Lukashenko felt absolutely at ease. A.Lukashenko even said that it is just a beginning and promised to make these meetings frequent. He must see himself long in presidential position in spite of everything …

Alexander Lukashenko Answers “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” Questions

Alexander Lukashenko’s speech was florid as usual. He told that all the candidates for the presidential position are worthy people. But later he said though that if somebody else but him wins the election – the country would be ransacked of everything that wasn’t ransacked earlier. On the questions about the missing persons he constructed a weird phrase: “I won’t say anything, because you are trying to make me speak about concrete things. Not even about the problem as such but about concrete things.” He enthusiastically made plans for the forthcoming five years, promised a 250-dollar salary, intimidated by Sheiman. In general, it was an exciting meeting.

During this unexpected meeting A.Lukashenko made one condition for the journalists: everything said by him must be published without any distortions. But they are free to make any comments.

We decided to give no comments. Understanding perfectly that the candidate A.Lukashenko won’t give an interview to our newspaper, we ask to consider these answers to “BDG” reporter Irina Khalip as a pre-election interview.

-- Mr Lukashenko, recently in our country and abroad rumors about you mental health are spreading persistently. And many features in your behavior prove them, for example a ski race ion pavement in the middle of the summer.

-- Was I to held them in winter on roller blades?..

-- I do not know at all for what purpose roller blades are used. But the question is in other thing. Why, Mr Lukashenko, you shun the independent psychiatric check up? It would be to your advantage in any case: you could demonstrate your perfect mental health to the rumors or you could life in peace knowing that you are not responsible for you actions, including criminal ones, as you were irresponsible when you performed them.

-- Thank you for a very sincere question. Nobody called me a criminal, a mentally healthy and a lunatic in one statement from a few sentences. Thank you for sincerity You speak about some independent commission. Will you be the head of it? Or should I go to the USA to undergo examination?

--Boris Yeltsin addressed a famous surgeon Debeiki to be called healthy. And everybody believed.

-- Yeltsin addressed Debeiki on a very grave occasion. God forbid me from addressing on this occasion. It’s first. Secondly, I do understand that you are just blackmailing me. Even I cannot believe that you believe I’m a mentally ill person. I was undressed and dressed, turned round and shown from different points during these seven years. I do not say I have made no mistakes I my behavior satisfied everybody. I am an emotional man by my nature, and it gives the occasion to profit by this theme. Not to you, Irina, but to your masters. So the question itself – independent commission or dependent commission – is not intended to make me undergo some examinations. I am blackmailed. Imagine I underwent check up – and the president is checked every year by different doctors. I will undergo commission, and the physicians would be blamed. Imagine I went to the West – to your West for check up. So what? Yeltsin was the friend of the West, and Lukashenko is not the West’s friend at all. Excuse me for using this terminology. You understand what I mean. And you make me go to the West to make some check-up? If you are interested in my health in Belarus – I can give you the chance to be persuaded in the good health of the president. And what concerns the ski race on asphalt – if you speak of the health of the president – come on, address the society. People are the most independent commission. Nobody within these seven years, except the deceitful part of the opposition, I even cannot speak of the whole opposition, reproached me for my health condition. On the contrary, they noted other things. So it is a far-fetched problem. I wasn’t to answer this question in detail as a politician, but I answered as a man. I know that than there will be speculations and conjectures and references even to some words said by me. And then again, the president is checked up every year, the records about his health are made meticulously. I can say one more thing, which is unbelievable to you– the president differs from any other man, as Lenin said once, by the fact that his health is like a table or a cupboard. It should be cared after, dusted. It’s a state property. So those who are responsible for the health of the president today, can never misrepresent the information on his health. What if something happen? Those who are responsible for the health would be taken to the prosecutor’s office, so falsifications are not allowed. Besides, it is a collective check up. By the way, last heart check up I made two weeks ago. It’s a usual process. Do you think that I must answer at every screech of the opposition? You say that I am irresponsible, and I must prove tat I am sane? It won’t be. You bring me to the capet in order, speaking in men`s terms, to beat me. Fine, go ahead!

I can bear it. I even answered about the asphalt and the skies to you. I can answer other questions too. But why do I need to do it? People do not need it. I do not need it. If your masters need it – intimidation won’t have success. Belarus has a normal president, Irina, do not worry.

- Only illegitimate.

- For you illegitimate. However, legitimate even for you. You came to me as to a president, not as just to Lukashenko. With Lukashenko you could meet in a different spot, not in the residence. But you came to the residence. So, no matter what you are saying, you still consider me president. Thanks for that. May be I am illegitimate but president for you. And for the nation I am absolutely legitimate.

- Now about your emotionalism. Could it be that Gonchar and Zakharenko fell pray to your emotional outbreak? May be in a fit of temper you ordered to kill them and then forgot? But Sheiman didn’t forget…

- If what you are saying was true, I’d be killing my enemies. But they are all living. Why then release weird orders and murder my own?

- Answering Interfax question about Titenkov and Bozhelko, who left your team, you briefly noted: “They’d better not steal so much”. But two years ago our newspaper wrote about Bozhelko, Titenkov, Logvinets and corruption among state procuracy. Why haven’t you reacted back then to our articles but said that the opposition press is slandering honest people?

- What you just said is true. But if back in those days your paper wrote one thing, calling them bribe-takers, then today you became their friend on the spur of the moment. That’s true. Then you published it, using some compromising stuff, ordered by other top figures. These were extracts from criminal cases, which had been opened then. If you thirst for truth: today they are hunting down Sheiman because he was responsible for everything: he controlled and was in charge of it. And I can easily prove it to you. Logvinets was captured and spent some time under investigation. But Bozhelko set him free. You were right when you said it was him who did that – that was a whole network in our country. They shouldn’t have released Logvinets. But Bozhelko did. So where is Bozhelko now? Working as Logvinets’ servant somewhere in Moscow.

- Then why Bozhelko’s accomplices – Nikolai Kupriyanov, Petr Ivanenko and some other procuracy heads are still free and well at the posts? They were also part of that network.

- As soon as we prove it they will be taken off in no time. You know what I mean.

- After your defeat at the elections, Alexander Grigorievich, will you remain in the country or flee away, as did Bozhelko?

- I’ll surely flee.

- Where? Somewhere your money is kept, or where they will protect you?

- To Israel… My dear, don’t you even count on that.

- Oh, I do count on that.

- Don’t, I’m serious.

- We’ll see…But if you are so sure you’ll win the ballot, why did you assert on TV last week that special police units will be guarding you?

- I was always guarded by one unit – presidential security service. Such agency exists in any country. Right now one person from the security service is here with me. He is the one who guards me. When I’m moving along the city I have three people from the security service near myself, not counting the driver, of course.

- Why did you breathe threats about SOBR, “Almaz” and “Alfa”?

- Don’t tell me about special services, which always existed since Soviet times. I didn’t create them. “Alfa” is an offspring of Soviet “Alfa”, whereas “Almaz” is an even smaller group. Nor did I found interior forces. Bear in mind that the number of their soldiers contracted during Lukashenko’s rule. The last redundancy happened at Sivakov’s time, whom you so much dislike. “Almaz” never protected me. On the first year of my presidency “Alfa” was indeed in charge of protecting me, as far as there had been no security service back then.

- Alexander Grigorievich, you’re avoiding my question. Why did you assert last week that after September 9, when the people rush to the residence, you would be guarded by SOBR, “Almaz” and “Alfa”?

- I never said “guard”, but “protect”.

- From whom? From the people?

- From you! And your masters.

- They can’t protect you from us.

Alexander Lukashenko Answers “Narodnaya Volya” Questions

Narodnaya Volya

Following you may familiarize yourselves with questions and answers, voiced during Alexander Lukashenko’s press-conference. Which makes us different from some state periodicals, we do not take the words out of the context, but simply publish everything as it is. Of course, we can’t be responsible for punctuation – Lukashenko sometimes gets so emotional that one can’t depict that on paper:

- Alexander Grigorievich! If you personally have nothing to do with the disappearances of famous persons, your major political opponents, then why don’t you order to set up an independent international commission to investigate and evaluate the documents, made public by Mr.Goncharik. Why don’t you refute the materials if you say they are phony?

- To refute lies?

- No, to refute documents, if they contain lies.

- Such documents don’t exist. Nothing to refute, Marina. Do you understand it or not? It is you who want some documents, but there are none. And there’s nothing to refute. That’s first. Second, you want me to form some independent commission on my health, you want it international. You wrote in your papers that I must invite FBI or some other investigation structures… No way! For I realize what conclusions the West will draw. They are the initiators of everything, Marina.

- Make a Belarusian commission, please. But independent.

- You asked me a question and I answer it. Remember, you, as a journalist are asking me, but not recommending me to do something. I am ready to listen to you as to a Belarusian voter, but, trust me, I don’t need your counsel. I’ve got so many recommendations worked out and proposed, including the ones, put forth by your masters. But West won’t handle these Belarusian issues. We got law and Constitution. Do you consider yourself to be an independent person?

- Why not?

- So you do. I will immediately copy these documents and you will draw a conclusion. I’d rather do it this way, for at least you are Belarusian. You have the right to share your views and draw conclusions, even on these documents. I can make copies of the original and hand them over to you for final expertise as a journalist. But FBI, CIA and the rest won’t be doing it in Belarus. Know why, Marina? Because I already told you that the meal is cooked over there. Look, where are the two former prosecutors. In USA. That’s where they are speaking from. Second. In the next few days there’ll appear more filthy stuff in your newspapers on the disappeared people, as you refer to them. On behalf of some Alkaev. He was made mention of in your newspapers. Where is the man now? He was taken to Germany. He’s in Berlin right now. He’ll be talking from there! Am I not right? Baturins, Vinnikovas, the disappeared, the appeared and all others, where are they? They are accommodated in Great Britain and other countries. Don’t interrupt me, please! You urge me to bring these people back – those who produce such lies, so that they could investigate into it. God forbid! Don’t I know what conclusion they will make? That’s what your independent international commission is all about.

- Fine, launch a Belarusian one, but INDEPENDENT.

- Listen, let us not think in old communist and Soviet stereotypes. It is you who doesn’t accept them. Commission, commission… I address you as an independent citizen of Belarus, how you just called yourself. I get you the documentation in question and you produce the conclusion. Deal?

- And one more question, if you don’t mind. Everyone knows that neither Matskevich, nor Bozhelko or detectives ruled to release Pavluchenko from KGB isolator jail. It was your personal order. As far as it were you who gravely violated the Constitution and all laws, forbidding you to replace law-enforcement and special structures, why don’t you correct the mistake on your own – arrest Pavluchenko anew and plead with, say, Interpol to further investigate into the matter.

- Again foreigners! Ok, Marina. Tell me a name in FBI or CIA, which you’d like to see here, who would bring the case to logical finish. Please, don’t interrupt me. You asked your question, so let me answer. If the question arose this way I can show some documents not to the wide public, but to you personally, as concerns constitutional and human rights violations. Bear in mind, that Pavluchenko, whom you mentioned, isn’t a criminal. First of all, the court never convicted him. And, secondly, do you know how they interrogated him?

- No, I don’t, but I’d like to.

- That’s why I’m saying: I will show you some documents, which I can’t make copies of. You’ll read them and see how this person got detained… If it wasn’t him detained but someone from your company, you would scream so stridently that not only Belarus but the whole country (?) would turn upside down. Hope, you know what I’m talking about… I am a guarantor of the Constitution, which you disrespect so much now – a president. And no matter who Petrov, Sidorov and Ivanov are, the president is obliged to guarantee them such rights. Especially when they catch him, arrest for unclear reasons, when it isn’t proven but recognized by all those, who incarcerated him. Then they surround KGB, bring “Alfa” there and manifest their power – excuse me, but as a head of state I can’t tolerate such arbitrariness in the country. Go, ahead, next question.

- Alexander Grigorievich, can you answer the question plainly: are Gonchar, Zakharenko, Krasovsky and Zavadsky alive?

- I figure, you possess greater information than even I on the case, taking into account your recent publications. So I feel like I should forward this question to you.

- Sorry, I am no president of Belarus…

- Marina, let me answer the question not the way you want me to. I use my right to do it the way it pleases me. I told you that I will answer any of your questions, but don’t push me to do it the way you want. And I apologize for making such a remark…

- In one of the latest TV programs Mr.Zimovsky said that he knows for sure that Zakharenko, Gonchar, Krasovsky and Zavadsky are alive. So I hope you, as president of Belarus even illegitimate, will give us some concrete answer.

- Here it is. As a president of Belarus I prefer not to comment on someone else’s words. Neither Zimovsky’s nor yours. You are a journalist and he also. Ask him and let him answer…

- If Bozhelko and Titenkov robbed the state of millions of dollars, as you said they did, why the criminal proceedings haven’t been opened against them?

- You’re mistaken. Very mistaken. Legal action was started long ago, where many people are suspects. A lot of people. In the near future I will introduce you to these facts too.

- Thank you.

- You’re welcome.