Łukašenka talks party-building, civil society and sanctions as he meets officials

June 10, BPN. Party-building, civil society and sanctions were among the topics Alaksandr Łukašenka touched on during a large conference with officials in Minsk on June 10.

Łukašenka encouraged party-building by saying: “Register your parties and work.” At the same time, according to BELTA, he noted that parties and public associations should act in the interests of the state: “We are an independent country and must act in our own interests.”

Of civil society, he said it should be oriented towards dialogue with the authorities and committed to the Belarusian people’s values and traditions. “There can be no question of these structures being funded from foreign sources. We know that whoever pays the piper calls the tune,” he emphasized.

Łukašenka instructed officials to organize effective cooperation with civic activists. “Deputies have learned to work with specific people’s requests. Now they must learn to work with public initiatives,” he said. This means spotting promising projects, helping raise funds and sometimes “leading the process,” he explained.

He also warned enterprising Belarusians against taking advantage of the Western sanctions. “There are certain sanctions-related difficulties: logistics are disrupted, etc. And many of our fellow Belarusians would like to take advantage of it, or have already taken advantage of it,” Łukašenka said.

Sometimes “to lend a shoulder to the state” and “occupy a vacant niche” is good, he added. “But at the same time, I want everyone to understand (especially you; our state’s entire elite is here, and decisions depend on us) that one would not succeed in using the situation to cash in, line his pockets and make money hand over fist.”

“Bribery, tax evasion and other crimes will be nipped in the bud,” he stressed.