‘You can choke on those sanctions’ Lukashenko holds a press conference on the anniversary of Belarus’s contested presidential vote
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On August 9, the anniversary of Belarus’s contested presidential election, Alexander Lukashenko held a press conference that lasted for more than eight hours. Responding to questions from journalists, the Belarusian dictator downplayed the scale of the opposition demonstrations that erupted last year, denied evidence that Belarusian police tortured protesters in custody, and said the UK could “choke” on its latest package of sanctions against Belarus. Lukashenko also claimed that he’s going to step down “very soon.” Meduza summarizes Lukashenko’s statements here.
It was a difficult year, but we won’t kneel. The presidential elections took place with complete transparency. I didn’t have time for an election campaign: I had to save people from the coronavirus. Not one of the rallies after the elections was peaceful. At its peak, 46,700 people took part in the protests. I would have used the army if the protesters crossed a red line. The West unleashed a massacre. The Okrestina Street detention center isn’t a sanatorium, but no one was tortured there. You won’t scare me with an international tribunal. There wasn’t large-scale betrayal at state enterprises. When I met with the oppositionists at the pre-trial detention center, I told them: “It’s a good thing you didn’t come to power.” If we had shown weakness during the protests, it would have started a new world war, because Russia would never lose Belarus. The FSB and KGB work in close contact. Roman Protasevich’s detention was “ordered” by Poland and Lithuania and now I have to protect him. [Belarusian sprinter] Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was controlled by her buddies from Poland. We will recognize Crimea as part of Russia when the last Russian oligarch starts shipping his products there. Setting up a Russian military base in Belarus isn’t profitable, but if necessary all of Russia’s armed forces will be deployed here. The UK sanctions? “You can choke on those sanctions, you are American lapdogs!” There never have been and never will be repressions in Belarus. I am rooted in this country and it is rooted in me. There’s no need to make guesses about when Lukashenko is going to step down. It will be very soon. And pray to God that I agree to head the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly.
This is a rough summary of Alexander Lukashenko’s statements during his press conference on August 9, 2021. You can watch the full press conference here. Phrases written in the first person aren’t necessarily verbatim quotes.
Summary by Olga Korelina
Translation by Eilish Hart
(1) Fact check
For most of 2020, Lukashenko downplayed the dangers of the coronavirus. He called it a kind of “psychosis” and maintained that no one in Belarus was dying (or would die) from the disease. He also suggested drinking vodka and doing manual labor as cures for COVID-19 saying, “The tractor will cure everyone, the field heals everyone.”
(2) Fact check
According to independent estimates, the largest opposition demonstration in Belarus in August 2020 drew 200,000 people.
(3) Fact check
Amid the repressions in Belarus over the past year, the Okrestina Street detention center has become synonymous with torture and dehumanization. There is a lot of evidence that detainees were beaten up and tortured inside Okrestina, including testimonies from victims, and reports by journalists, doctors, and human rights activists. According to the United Nations, there were more than 450 cases of torture and mistreatment documented there during the first three weeks of the protests alone.
(4) Roman Protasevich
A Belarusian opposition journalist and the former editor-in-chief of the opposition Telegram channel, Nexta. Protasevich was arrested in Minsk on May 23, after the Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair flight travelling from Athens to Vilnius to make an emergency landing. Protasevich’s girlfriend, Russian national Sofia Sapega, was arrested along with him. While in jail in Belarus, Protasevich appeared in several interviews on state television that appeared to be forced. In late June, he and Sapega were transferred to house arrest.