BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

18/11/2008

Alexander Lukashenko: 'We cannot be a closed country'

By Stefan Wagstyl

What do you want to achieve from improving relations with the European Union?

We've always aspired to improve our relations with the European Union ... because we consider ourselves a part of Europe, and moreover, we consider ourselves the geographic centre of Europe. From the first days of my presidency ... we have clearly agreed that our foreign policy has to be multi-vectoral [ie open to the west, Russia and other countries] ... We consume only 25-30 per cent of what we produce, and we sell the rest ... So we cannot be a closed country ... We are only asking one thing: let us live our lives ... don't block us, help us communicate and trade freely, exclusively on the basis of market principles and free competition.

How do you respond to western criticism of your democratic standards?

Old, wise and experienced Mother Europe must not apply double standards ... That would be extremely unfair ... Vladimir Putin, while president of Russia, took leadership of the party and led it to the parliamentary elections using all the tools available to a president. Why were you silent? ... Because Russia is enormous. It is a strong nuclear state. You are dependent on Russia for ... energy resources. And it is a huge, immense market ...

Why, given the dictatorship in Saudi Arabia, are the Americans walking around embracing sheikhs? Because you and the Americans depend on them. You depend on Russia and the Americans depend on Saudi Arabia.

And what is Belarus against that background? Nothing. You could just go and crush it. But you understand that because of our relations with Russia it won't be possible to just crush it. That is why you say it should be fenced off and say that it is the last stronghold of dictatorship, that the people are like bears, that they haven't left their burrows, that they are bad and savage, and you do not give them visas ... You are so lucky to have a chance to talk to the last dictator of Europe. You could only dream of meeting with the last dictator of Europe and see what kind of dictator he is. Touch him, sit at the same table with him. You only read this in books, but now you've seen it for real.

Why have you declined, so far, to follow Russia in recognising the breakaway Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia?

Don't forget that we are an ally of Russia. I don't mean to say that we support every stupid thing that Russia may do, if that happens, not at all. But where it is possible and where it goes in line with our interests, you have to agree with me that we should act as allies.

You [in the west] used economic levers, financial levers and personal relations with leaders of post-Soviet republics to prevent the recognition of Abkhazia and Ossetia at this stage, and you turned out to be stronger than Russia ... However, what is the guarantee that those factors will continue playing in your favour tomorrow? What is the guarantee that the growing influence of Russia in those countries won't take the upper hand against your influence? This will be the decisive factor in the recognition or non-recognition of those republics.

Do Russia's claims to a "zone of special interest" in the former Soviet Union represent a threat to Belarus?

Not at all. Please understand one thing. This idea may come from our opposition that's wailing: "Georgia today - Belarus tomorrow." That, say, Russia may handle Belarus in the same way tomorrow by subordinating it. This is a stupid and groundless statement. God forbid Russia would hypothetically want to try and handle some issues this way in Belarus; then the global community, and Europeans first of all, would have had every reason to cool Russia down, resorting to any methods and leverage ... Is Russia aware of this? Of course it is ... In fact such a scenario is not possible, because a Russian man, a Russian military man would never point the barrel of his machine gun, handgun, grenade launcher at Belarus. Our peoples are as close to each other as Germans are to Germans.

Are Russia's plans to increase gas prices a danger to Belarus?

We won't die ... We are still negotiating with Gazprom. And you have to realise that if Russia pursues that kind of policy towards Belarus, we shall reciprocate in the same way ... [In any case], Russia is not interested in killing our economy, because ... our economies are interconnected, and trade turnover between Russia and Belarus will constitute more than $30bn by the end of this year.

For a long time you opposed privatisation. Have you changed your mind?

If we had sold our enterprises back [in the 1990s], they would have been valued at one dollar. At present, the value of many enterprises that you want to buy, is billions of dollars ... I believe we have acted as good owners. That is why today ... when this economy exceeds the Gross Domestic Product of Soviet times by 2.5 times and people queue for a year to buy our tractors or cars ... we can negotiate. "If you want to buy shares, you can do that. But it's not about one dollar, but billions of dollars."

It won't be a landslide, all-out privatisation typical of other post-Soviet republics. We shall negotiate every enterprise on a case-by-case basis, depending on investor's preferences and the interests of our country ... But if you do come to us, you will be guaranteed full support from this dictator, from this country and our people. We do not "strip" our investors. We do not demand any bribes to officials. We do not have the corruption that exists in your countries and in other post-Soviet republics.

Why do you put so much pressure on Belarus's political opposition?

Those people are not an opposition, those are people that receive money from you. Their leaders split the money among themselves and exist very well. You know, it seems to me that those people don't even need power in Belarus, because if they come to power they wouldn't know what to do ... They feel good being eternal oppositionists.

How would you assess election standards in Belarus?

Elections in Belarus are not only transparent, not only democratic, but democratic and transparent without precedent.

What is being done to investigate the cases of critics of your rule who disappeared in and around the year 2000, including Dmitry Zavadsky, the television journalist?

This investigation [of the Zavadsky case] was never closed ... I have said before that Dima Zavadsky is the worst wound for me as president. He is an honest and decent person who had no relation to politics whatsoever ... The court passed its verdict in this criminal case and the person is serving a life sentence [for kidnapping]. But for me the most important matter is to find him [Zavadsky], or if he died - to find his body. If it turns out that our court was wrong and misjudged the [convicted] person, than I'll be on my knees begging forgiveness of relatives, friends, and Dmitry Zavadsky himself if he turns out to be alive. Perhaps you mentioned Dmitry Zavadsky because he is close to you as journalists. Maybe we can speak of others in the same way. Please believe me that this is the problem of problems for me.

Do you have any plans to retire?

So far I don't have such plans, and it is not because I want to be at power eternally, but because, in today's situation, it would be seen as an escape ... I shall not try to convince you that I won't hold on to this seat with my both hands, because you may believe it or not ... Time will show. It seems to me that I am still capable to continue in this role, and the majority of people perceive this as normal.

What makes a good father?

It is very important for a father to teach his son a real man's life. And when [my youngest son] Kolya turned one year old, I took him by the hand and brought him to a steam room. Of course he complained and ran out. But now he is four years old, he can endure temperature differences from 100 degrees [Farenheit] in the steam room to 28 degrees in the swimming pool. Plus he endures ice baths. I taught my [two] elder sons to do that. We would cut a hole in ice on the river, dive into it, and then run along through the snow to the steam room.

Excerpts from a recent Financial Times - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung interview

Source:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/525e1c14-b431-11dd-8e35-0000779fd18c.html

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