Rally in Grodno

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko addressed a rally of his supporters after the meeting with members of the regional council of deputies in Grodno on 22 August.

The rally was held in Lenin Square under the motto “Let's keep the country united!" Its participants rallied for the current government, peace and accord and chanted that they would not give the country away to anyone. More than 20,000 people gathered on the square to listen to the President.

The head of state came to the stage to a storm of applause. Supporters chanted “Lukashenko!” for several minutes.

“Many years ago (the elder generation remembers that) I started my first election campaign in this wonderful region, this great city. Why I came to Grodno in the first place? My main opponents were Poles and Catholics - Zenon Stanislavovich [Poznyak], Stanislav Stanislavovich [Shushkevich] and Vyacheslav Frantsevich [Kebich]. I decided then that I would go to them, to the Poles,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

According to the head of state, Grodno residents asked him then to solve several issues, although they did not believe that he would succeed. “I solved them within a year in gratitude for you voting for me then. Thank you very much that you have supported me all those years!” the President said.

“When I was approaching this square, I was told that the situation in Grodno was different now. I said: ‘It is not true. It is impossible that people changed so much here.’ When I saw this huge crowd of thousands of people, I realized that Grodno is still our land,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Aleksandr Lukashenko called on Belarusians never to give their country away to anyone. “Whether I am president or not, never give your country away to anyone. Keep your land, do not give it to anyone. It belongs to our children, they have nowhere else to look for land. No one will give it to them," the Belarusian leader stressed.

“The question is not about Lukashenko today. I have had enough of the presidency. But imagine for a moment the president is not Lukashenko. Who would command troops on the western border today? Who would the defense minister report to? We would not be the masters of our land. We would have been broken and left on the sidelines of history,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President stressed that the external interference in the country's affairs is obvious. "Today we are being pushed into the abyss of discord and hatred," he said. “On the western border, they are restless, they are saber-rattling, they are threatening, and they are openly interfering in the internal affairs of our sovereign state. Some even, rubbing his hands (I know it for sure) have the designs on Kresy Wschodnie [Polish for Eastern Borderlands] where everything Belarusian was banned and rooted out mercilessly in the past. Now this is our land. The land of sovereign Belarus, where all nationalities that form the backbone of the Belarusian people live in peace and harmony. We should defend our land,” the President said.

“During my work I have traveled all over the world, I have seen different nations,” Aleksandr Lukashenko continued. “I have seen many peoples who have gone through color revolutions, they are still struggling and no one is helping them. They put nations on their knees first and then enslave them in a modern way, preferably without tanks and aircraft. They divide people first and then, without money, without any expenses, turn them in the direction they need,” the President said.

The President stressed that in Belarus these plans are seen by both authorities and ordinary citizens. “We, Belarusians,  are well-educated people. Have all the misfortunes over the past century not been enough for us?” the President said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the Western Operational Command to closely watch the movement of military units of the countries that border on NATO member states.

The head of state also instructed the State Border Committee to beef up security along the state border. “Not a single militant, not a single provocateur, not a single ammunition round must penetrate into our territory,” he said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that in the past the government decided to simplify border crossing procedures for citizens of a number of countries. However, some foreigners are trying to exploit it for negative goals. “They’ve come here, wave flags, riot, encourage you to stage riots as well,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. He explained it was the reason why border security had to be increased.

“People at the heart of the riots are not Grodno residents. The genuine instigators are located near Warsaw and Vilnius. You can see to where the alternative candidates have fled. Nobody pushed them out of Belarus. Some even asked me to save them and get them out of the country. Some went abroad in roundabout ways via Russia and Ukraine only to settle down over there.”

“Those, who coordinate and lead all of it, reside abroad in neighboring countries and even get some support from their governments,” Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced.