Belarus president prepared to struggle against possible Western aggression

Alexander Lukashenko believes the West intends to destroy him

Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, held a session of the Security Council, at which he presented the plan regarding the defensive ability of the country to repulse possible aggression. The date of the session coincided with two other events – the start of the national military exercise in Belarus “The Shield of the Fatherland 2004” and the refusal of Europe and the USA to grant visas to four top officials of Belarus. These circumstances became the base of the emotional drive in Lukashenko's speech. It was only the president who spoke at the session, other members were all silent. Lukashenko's speech was rather hysterical at times.

In the beginning of the speech the president praised the friendliness of the Belarus nation and emphasized the state's unwillingness to start any armed conflicts with any foreign country. After that Lukashenko stated that the army should always be prepared to react accordingly to nascent threats. Alexander Lukashenko is especially concerned about the strengthening of the American influence and the eastward extension of NATO. Belarus, the president said, has renewed the legal base in the field of defense during the recent four years; the modernization of the army still continues.

Lukashenko pointed out several priorities for the future. The Belarus president said that it will be necessary to establish the joint system of the country's administration in case of military aggression. The maintenance of the army's defensive capacity was designated as the second priority. “International right or security institutes can guarantee sovereignty and territorial integrity to a separate state. There is no international security,” Lukashenko said. The president exemplified the thesis with Iraq and Yugoslavia. “That is why, we should take care of our security ourselves, with our own resources, efforts and means,” Lukashenko stated.

The amendment of arms and military hardware was named the third priority. “We started a large-scale modernization. The government needs to start thinking about funding more intensive modernization of the national air force, in order to be able to repulse a possible attack at any time,” Lukashenko said. The material approach to the armed forces needs to be changed too: “We need a single organized and thought-out system to maintain all defense structures,” said the president.

As Lukashenko stated, the work on the national defense plan started last year. “The document has become highly important to guarantee the national security for Belarus,” Lukashenko said. The Belarus President did not conceal that the decision of the EU and the USA to show pressure on Belarus had influenced him a lot. The European Union and the States barred several Belarus officials from entering their territories. Lukashenko was extremely emotional during that part of his speech. The president entrusted the Interior Ministry with taking adequate measures. The ministry is currently working on the list of European and American officials, who will be soon announced personas non-grata in Belarus.

Lukashenko said that the special forces of Belarus had obtained information about the plans of the Western countries to destroy him: “I want you to tell them – let them start doing it right now. They will not manage to break me, no matter what they might do. We will plan our actions accordingly. We will deal with our own defense,” Lukashenko said.

In conclusion, the Belarus president talked about the need to strengthen the system of power in the country and struggle against terrorism. He presented another plan during the session – to improve the efficiency of state services in the field of the anti-terrorist struggle. Lukashenko repeatedly said that he still considered Russia the staunchest and closest ally of Belarus. “Our allies do not close their borders, let us be friends with them. We should work along with the Russian Federation, develop our cooperation in the military fiend.” Alexander Lukashenko reminded that he had initiated the establishment of the joint group of forces between Belarus and Russia. “We will be strengthening the group,” promised the president.

Olga Mazaeva