No colour-coded “revolution” here, says defiant Belarus leader :: Charter'97 :: News

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, under pressure from both the United States and the European Union over his authoritarian rule, said on Tuesday that there would be no Western-inspired "revolution" in his country, and that he would stay in power until 2010.

"We categorically reject the scenarios of `democratic change` of political elites who don`t please people in the West," he said in an annual message to the Belarussian people.

Referring to recent Western-influenced changes in countries such as Ukraine -- where the ouster of the former leadership was called the "orange revolution" -- Lukashenko said: "All these coloured revolutions are pure and simple banditry."

"We are going to accomplish key tasks in the coming five years," he said. "Only the Belarus people can prevent us FROM doing that. No money will overthrow the government in Belarus."

The statement came four days after an EU meeting of foreign ministers accused Lukashenko of steering Belarus towards "dictatorship," and shortly before US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to meet with Belarussian opposition figures in neighbouring Lithuania. Rice is currently visiting Russia.

Last October Lukashenko won a referendum which allowed him to serve as many five-year mandates as he wanted. The vote was severely criticized by both outside observers and the Belarus opposition.

His current five-year mandate ends next year.

In Tuesday`s statement, Lukashenko also lashed out directly at both the EU and the United States, which he accused of "wanting to teach democracy to Belarus."

"They have more problems with democracy than Belarus, as can be seen from the congenital violations during US elections, and the farcical referendums on the entry of new members to the European Union," he said.

The Belarus leader nevertheless said he hoped to restore a "relationship of equals" with the United States.