Presidential Elections in Belarus Not Planned For This Year :: Charter'97 :: News

Today Alyaksandr Lukashenka has delivered a message to the Belarusian nation and the parliament. The most important news that was announced during this event was the rescheduling of the term of the Third All-Belarusian People’s Assembly. According to Lukashenka, it is to take place in the beginning of the next year. Thus, the presidential elections are not expected this year, as it had been supposed that the proposal for Lukashenka to run for another term would be made at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly. The speech by Luikashnenka was traditionally long (more than two hours), and was abundant with traditional invectives against the USA, the European Union, the UN Commission on Human Rights, that recently adopted a resolution on Belarus, the Embassies of the western states. Russia has been criticized as well: Lukashenka accused the Lukoil company of trade in Belarusian women.

We would like to offer you the most interesting passages:

“The scenario of the “democratic change” of political elites, which are unwanted by the West, is categorically unacceptable for us. These are not colour revolutions, but banditism under the guise of democracy,” told Lukashenka. “No bandits, no revolutionaries, no money would be able to work in Belarus. Today bagfuls, suitcases of this money are smuggled into Belarus. We know it, and if we are keeping silence, it does not mean that we do not know about it”.

Addressing a number of representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Belarus, the Belarusian leader told: “look how the country is living and do something good for the country and its people”. “There are enough examples: ambassadors of Turkmenistan, Armenia, Russia and other people, who are devoted to Belarus, and who love this country,” he told.

Touching upon the colour revolutions, Lukashenka underlined that “this banditism is imposed from outside, and is performed to please people not caringe about the country and the people, and are interesting only to those who have imperial ambitions and are trying to occupy new markets”.

Lukashenka admitted that there are many problems in the political relations with the EU. “Not all Europeans are impressed by the political stability of Belarus, the social direction of the changes,” noted the Belarusian leader.

A.Lukashenka also stated that “Belarus is interested in revival of the full-fledged dialogue with the USA, but without spurring, especially taking into consideration the positive dynamics of the commercial and economic relations”. “At the same time, we could not tolerate the attempts of political pressure, threats, sanctions. We hope that the common sense is to prevail in our relations,” told A. Lukashenka.

Lukashenka expressed his negative opinion about the activities of the UN Commission on Human Rights, having characterized them as: “abuse of authority to the benefit of the powers that be”. “The activities of the OCSE are subject to even more politicization,” Lukashenka believes.

Speaking about the human trafficking, A.Lukashenka told that “there are enough charlatans in embassies, especially in the embassies of the Eastern European countries, who help to traffic people”. “In large companies, in Lukoil… They have come to trade in oil, and supplied women. Now [one of them] is arrested and giving evidence,” he told.

Lukashenka also stated that the tempo of economic growth is the highest not only the growth of the CIS countries` economies, but in the most of the European states. He underlined that "we have made it without any foreign help, without any cash infusion by the IMF and other international financial organizations". "On the contrary, it was happening despite the pressure which had been exerted and is still exerted upon us," noted the Belarusian ruler.