Meeting with the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

We need to defend the independence and sovereignty of the country, to ensure a decent life for future generations, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting with the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“I'm not forcing anyone. This is not my principle. I’m not forcing students, who are kind of protesting today, workers, farmers civil servants or military. I'm not persuading anyone to take my side. If you want to, then rally up behind me. I'm not even going to hide behind your backs. I will do anything that you want me to do to make sure you are not afraid of anyone and stand up for the country,” the head of state noted.

"Those, who do not want to, let you be. I can repeat what I said ahead of the election: do not betray! Traitors are not loved by anyone: nor by God or those who call on you to take to the streets today. So see for yourself. It's important. Because what's going on is minor things. The main thing is the sovereignty and independence of our country, where we, our children and grandchildren will live tomorrow," the Belarusian leader stressed.

The President noted that the country’s history is made of such events, or even tougher ones: "Our country was torn and divided into pieces, into shreds, mainly thanks to our nationalists. They lost their way. They would turn to anyone for sovereignty and independence... It came to the point that they, under the white-red-white-flag, sided with bloody fascism in the last war and today they justify those actions by the desire to gain independence. Did they get it? What they got was every third Belarusian killed, maimed and dead afterwards.”

“The country was turned into ruins. Today they are raising this flag over their heads. Who are they?” the head of state asked a rhetorical question. “The flag is not to blame, I have already said it. It is just the things that this flag is associated with. We are not fighting against the flags today. We are fighting against the alien ideas and the people holding these ideas.”