The violent protests across Belarus after Sunday’s presidential election were directed from abroad, re-elected President Alexander Lukashenko claimed. He also blamed foreign countries for internet connection troubles.
The country’s special services intercepted phone calls from Poland, UK and the Czech Republic on election day, Lukashenko said.
...They were controlling our, I beg your pardon, sheep: they don’t understand what they’re doing and they’re being controlled already.
Switching off the internet in Belarus wasn’t the government’s initiative – it was also done from abroad, he added.
The president promised that he won’t allow a Maidan-style coup, like the one in Ukraine in 2014, in his country, urging the protesters to “calm down,” as cited by state-run BelTA news agency.
He also advised parents to look after their children – who join the rallies – better to “avoid pain” in the future.
Massive protests engulfed the capital Minsk and other Belarusian cities after the polls closed on Sunday.
Amid violent clashes, the police used tear gas, water cannons, flashbang grenades and other means to disperse the angry crowds. Officials said some 3,000 people were arrested, with more than 50 protestors and 39 officers injured. Local human rights activists told media that one person was killed, but authorities rejected that claim.
Responding to Lukashenko's allegations, Polish FM Jacek Czaputowicz called them “groundless.” Warsaw was still interested in good relations with Minsk, the minister said, but pointed out that the Belarusian election campaign, which was marred by arrests of opposition candidates, and the use of force against the demonstrators overnight “contradicted international standards.”
“The EU must act to prevent violence in Belarus,” Czaputowicz declared, adding that Poland was “expecting the Belarusian authorities to end repressions.”
The Czech Republic’s Foreign Ministry also rejected Lukashenko’s accusations, insisting that the country “respects the sovereignty of Belarus.”
However, it said that Prague “will always support the freedom of speech and gatherings as well as democratic political competition.” And the election in Belarus “can’t be called free and democratic,” the ministry added.
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