Łukašenka vows to prevent 2020-like protests

January 24, BPN. Belarusian authorities will never allow 2020-like protests to take place in Belarus again, Alaksandr Łukašenka has told officials.

“Some [opponents] are hiding,” his press office’s unofficial Telegram channel quoted him as saying. “Some are exposing themselves [as] we are working very hard. 2020 is over. It’s bad that we have such a situation around the country, especially with our Ukraine. But it is a lesson for us, for all the ten million [Belarusians] and our guests.”

Belarus could be worse off than Ukraine had the Belarusian authorities lost to protesters in 2020, he stressed.

“I don’t want people to bow to me or you and to thank us for that, but it is clear to everyone what we defended and whom we owe thanks for that,” he said. “If someone crawls out from under the baseboard like a cockroach and starts over or continues this nasty business, fighting against the people and against the authorities. . . If someone, God forbid… But they are afraid [to act] openly now. Look, what should we do with them now?”

Authorities keep reacting harshly to dissent, he noted. “We will never allow the wavering of 2020,” Łukašenka added. “Of course, there was a pandemic and other issues, electoral [campaign] and elections, influenced it, but that’s no excuse.”