Meeting to discuss situation at Belarus’ border

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the law enforcement and security services to beef up border protection and to prevent border violation cases as he spoke at a meeting to discuss the situation at the border on 5 August. 

“From now on, not a single person shall enter the territory of Belarus from the adjacent states, whether from the south or from the west.  You will meet with the state secretary later on to discuss how you are going to do it. Here we have the minister of internal affairs, the defense minister. Every meter of the border must be secured. It is not for nothing that we have invested enormous funds in the border troops, our law enforcement in general. Our people should feel secure. They should know that there are men who protect them,” the Belarusian leader said. “This is what we have to do. Elementary things. God forbid, they [neighboring countries] start expelling people whom they have invited there [illegal migrants] through official checkpoints. You know the consequences. They do too. So let them think. We warned them, and let them think,” he said.

"The ball is in their court. But they have gone as far as killing people and throwing them half-alive on our territory ... True Nazis and this is all we can say about them," the head of state added.

According to him, the recent events at the western borders of Belarus, primarily with Lithuania and even Poland, are alarming.

"I think that if we compare all the factors and facts that we have been observing recently, we can see that having implemented seven or eight stages of the so-called color revolution, they have nothing left. Therefore, they returned to the long-tested tactics - blackmail, pressure. They have already started issuing threats of force," the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko cited an example of one of such threats. They might concentrate illegal migrants at the official checkpoints: “Let’s say, at the border between Lithuania and Belarus. These are already hundreds and maybe thousands of people. At the threat of weapons, they are going to force these people out onto the territory of Belarus.”

The President added that such actions of the neighboring country might lead to a conflict, because by law border guards must protect the border.

“To put it bluntly, a very dangerous situation is unfolding. It would be wrong, however, to say that we did not foresee it. That was why, back then I asked you to be very careful in this regard with our “friends”-neighbors, especially in the West,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The President asked the state secretary of the Security Council, who had been tasked with overseeing the situation, to report on what has recently been happening at the western border. The President asked the head of the State Border Committee about his vision of Belarus’ response. “They have passed a law enabling them to shoot and beat migrants, which is outrageous. Nevertheless, it is their right, they showed their true colors. We should be concerned with our border. Here, the greatest responsibility lies with Anatoly Lappo [Chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus],” the Belarusian leader said.