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Belarusian president delivers state-of-nation address
Belarusian television, Minsk
19 Apr 05
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has pledged to stay the
course despite what he described as Western-sponsored attempts to
topple him. Delivering his annual state-of-the-nation address in
parliament, Lukashenka said Belarusians would not support anything
similar to the "coloured revolutions", which he said the West had
staged in neighbouring CIS countries. He accused Poland of setting
Catholics in western Belarus against him and said Ukraine was training
"revolutionaries" to oust him. Lukashenka warned that the latest
military exercise had shown that the Belarusian armed forces were
prepared to repel any foreign invasion. He accused the USA and European
countries of funding the Belarusian opposition. Lukashenka described
Belarus as Russia's most reliable ally, saying the union with Russia
would continue to develop. He devoted more than half of the two-hour
speech to his country's economic performance and targets. The following
is an excerpt from the speech by Lukashenka relayed live by Belarusian
TV on 19 April; subheadings inserted editorially:
[Lukashenka] As has already been said, in accordance with
the constitution of Belarus, the head of state makes an annual
state-of-the-nation address, which is one of the weighty presidential
responsibilities.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka outlines the content of the address,
says that there will be no sensational statements and praises the
economy and living standards.]
Economic successes despite unfavourable external factors
The banking sector is growing steadily. Inflation is on a downward
trend and the situation in the currency market is stable. It should be
noted that we have attained this without any foreign aid or support,
without injections by the IMF and other financial institutions. We
have done this in spite of all the developments around our country
and in spite of unprecedented pressure, which is still experienced
by Belarus. You are well aware of this. Presently life in Belarus has
taken on a new texture. Higher incomes open up new possibilities for
social development.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka outlines economic development plans for
2005. He adds that small companies should be taken over by larger
industrial companies and ailing enterprises should revert to the
state.]
Companies should be able to compete in the market place. You
should bear in mind the fact that Belarus is gearing up for WTO
membership. Our failure to secure WTO membership will not generate any
fear, as we will still be involved in all the processes currently
ongoing in international trade. The key process is cut-throat
competition and we, Belarusians with our open economy, which is
dependent on fuel imports, should withstand. I would like to reiterate
this point. All our modest successes in the economy have been scored
against the backdrop of both severe competition and an upswing in
prices of raw materials, which we import. If it were not for such
high prices, we would be living much better and our companies would
be much more profitable.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka promises support to floundering companies
and threatens to persecute corrupt managers.]
Need to reduce dependence on foreign energy
Manufacturing companies using local fuel will be given top-priority
treatment. I have already said that Belarus is dependent on imports
of energy resources. Thus, our strategic objective is to introduce
energy-saving technology and make a shift to alternative sources
of power. The topicality of maintaining our energy security can be
ascribed to rising prices at international markets and growing needs
of our economy. Our primary task is to increase the share of local
fuels by 25-30 per cent. If we are able to meet 25 per cent of our
energy needs using local resources, we could say that Belarus is an
independent and sovereign country. Otherwise, all this boils down
to pure rhetoric. Everybody should save energy, both companies and
the population.
It does not mean that Belarus has any problems with energy. Heat,
electricity and gas will always be available. They will be in abundance
but this will come at a price. Prices will maintain their relentless
creep upward towards international level. This is the trend in the
country where we buy all this from. As Russia internationalizes
domestic prices, it will not sell us gas at lower prices. Of course
it will not. We indeed have agreed to keep the price of gas in 2005 at
the level seen this year. It comes with strings attached. It does not
mean that Russia has given us a gift of 200m dollars due a difference
in price. This is because we have reached a deal with Gazprom [Russian
gas giant] whereby we will render certain services to this company
in Belarus. Belarus should gain something from its central location
in Europe. This is exactly the resource we are going to tap. Major
transnational companies are prepared to pay for this and they already
do so.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka says that efforts to lay gas distribution
pipelines will be continued in the regions. He promises to support
small businesses, which are involved in manufacturing. He stresses
that more should be done to make Belarusian science more effective.]
Investment policy
Manufacturing of hi-tech goods and modernization of manufacturing
facilities are impossible without a well-considered investment
policy. We do not need investment for the sake of investment. We
should always remember that investments are not a gift and
should be paid for by assets or profits. Thus we should clearly
realize what we need investment for and how much. We should shape a
scientifically-grounded demand for investment resources. We need no
new manufacturing facilities. We should not tie up capital in new,
bare-boned structures. We need hi-tech equipment, which ideally should
be Belarusian-made. Currently more than a hundred diverse investment
projects are being implemented. In 2004 fixed capital investment
was up 20 per cent year-on-year and reached more than 5bn dollars, a
level we considered out of reach three years ago. We got no handouts
from abroad. We relied on our domestic resource. Thus we are in no
way dependent on anyone in this respect.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka promises higher growth in fixed capital
investment in 2005 and years ahead. He outlines ways to revive the
agricultural sector. He urges the government to do more to develop
tourism and housing construction. He urges people to do more sport]
Need to stop brain drain
The education system has a big role in educational activities. We
have managed to preserve and develop the best achievements of the
Soviet school. We have not surrendered to fashionable innovations by
copying other countries' experience.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka dwells on need to take national interests
into account in reforming education.]
We can easily adjust our wonderful education system to world standards
and have no grievances or blame on the part of our neighbours. And
then you know, when studying this problem - you have probably noticed
that I often revisit it, two-three times a year - I have noticed that
our [switches to Belarusian] great, conscious [opposition members]
and scientists [switches to Russian again] say that our diplomas
and our specialists will not be in demand abroad. I ask them: whom
do you train specialists for? If they are not in demand, let it
be so. We need them here, in Belarus. Moreover, whatever kind of
system we had in Soviet times, I already told you who created the
Silicon Valley. Who? Russians, Belarusians and Jews from Belarus,
Russia and Ukraine. But at those times our system did not meet those
standards. However, they lured our most talented people. So, why are
we doing this? A good specialist will always find his vocation. And
our system is wonderful, I wish they had such a system.
[Passage omitted: Soviet achievements in the education sector should
be preserved and improved; foreign technology adopted.]
I would like to stress it once again that our education has world
prestige. This does not mean that we are training specialists for
export. We have no plans to subsidize foreign economies. If there are
such plans, they should be based on mutually beneficial interests. We
will bring up and develop talented young people ourselves because
any talent should be in demand in due time and in full.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka speaks about government support for
talented youth.]
I would like to address young people. Do not think that there is
heaven on Earth awaiting you somewhere beyond Belarus's borders. You
will never get everything and at once there. Prestigious posts are
not being prepared for you there. They have such posts for their own
residents. Ask those who have returned from there. When conducting a
brain storming session on the hi-tech park establishment recently,
we found out that indeed, our people, citizens of Belarus, Russia,
Ukraine and other republics are in demand in the USA, especially in
the West, and so on. But they are in demand as handymen but not in
the leading managerial positions where one can see the system on the
whole, assess and evaluate it. They are not allowed there. What will
be if he comes back to Belarus with the understanding of the whole
system? Therefore, he is a cog being screwed into the machine. Go
ahead, we will suck the juice from you. And this whole system belongs
to their people. Is this not true? Let us think it over, young people,
above all, whether it is worth going there to become a cog and what
you will get there in connection with this. A total of 99 per cent do
come back here several years later and all definitely come to their
native land to die.
[Passage omitted: Belarus needs young specialists itself; Lukashenka
speaks about his meetings with students and instructs officials and
teachers to pay more attention to work with young people.]
Human smuggling
Families willing to adopt orphans will be found here, in
Belarus. Foreign adoptions may take place only in exceptional cases,
as was said earlier. And the fate of each child going abroad should
be closely followed, which we have introduced recently. But I am
convinced that we are capable of bringing up our children ourselves
and we should do this. You know, not long ago media, especially
in the Russian Federation, reported about one of the thousands of
horrible cases. The thing I warned you of a year ago when I was told:
Alyaksandr Ryhoravich, how can we do without foreign adoptions? Why
should we do this [restrict adoptions] if they feel good there, if
the children want this? Can you imagine, at the age of five or six, or
even three, they want [to be adopted by foreigners]? What does it lead
to? About 500,000, half a million, or 600,000 [children] from Russia
were adopted outside the territory of the Russian Federation. I do not
know how many our children [have been adopted] over these 10 years,
a figure was mentioned. More than 1,000, I believe about 1,500. And
what? Are you sure that this is not happening to our children? It
is good that we have started registering them there now. We started
looking into what is happening there. In no case are we prohibiting
[child adoptions]. We are just looking at each child - whether
they should be adopted abroad or not. We considered this issue in a
thorough way, the education minister has allowed the adoption of five
children by foreigner over the last year, since the last address [to
parliament], when this problem was raised. Five, no more. Moreover,
it was done with guarantees from very responsible people.
We were speaking a lot about trade in people. I saw a discussion in
this hall where we came to the point of absurdity. What shall we do if
a married woman loves someone on the side, and why should we need this
law? My dear, the essence of this edict [against human trafficking]
and this law that you have approved already is not in this. The issue
is not in this. We should tell our people, not only women, because it
[the edict] deals not only with trafficking in women. We are not going
to hang marital fidelity belts on appropriate body parts. This is your
problem. Please be your own masters, but trade in women is prohibited
in our state. They say how can it be so? Let her be her own master.
Excuse me, why do we ban trade in drugs? We do ban [drugs] trade. And
this trade will not take place here. You see the direction the world is
moving. A woman, if we speak about her, a girl should decide herself
what to do. But if a person goes [abroad] to earn some money and they
are dragged to other places, we should offer this assistance to them,
including abroad, if they do not want this, excuse me for being
rude. Earlier nobody was responsible for this. [Interior Minister
Uladzimir] Navumaw spoke here. He cannot reveal the details, as the
investigation is still in progress. But when we looked into what
is happening there [presumably, in model business], now there are
no vacant places in a remand centre. They have been jailed because
they were trading [in women], receiving huge money, for example, up
to 10,000 [dollars] for one trip to the [United] Arab Emirates. Who
received this money? Those beauties? No. Mediators lined their pockets
with the money.
Foreign embassies, Russian oil company said involved in trafficking
Moreover, this is shadow, black money. Millions of dollars were
circulating. We have monitored the trends taking place and looked
at it in an open manner. This is the problem. Some deputies started
shivering: what will happen, as everybody has been banned [from
travelling abroad]? Nobody has been banned from anything. It is
impossible to impose bans, as we do not live in closed society. They
will travel via Russia or other states. There are enough charlatans
at the embassies present here, especially at the embassies of
Eastern European states, who are helping with trafficking people from
here. We have discovered this at certain representative offices of big
companies, [Russia's] LUKoil, above all, I will tell you frankly. They
have come here to refine oil but have been trafficking our girls abroad
instead. They were trafficked in batches, hundreds of people. They
have been jailed and are giving testimonies today. This is the problem.
[Passage omitted: the government does not mind trips abroad by
students but wants to make sure that Belarusians are properly treated
abroad. Lukashenka expands on development of culture, pledges support
to cultural figures.]
Belarusian pop music quota working well
All conditions for creative work by cultural figures have been
created in this country. I have even resorted to unpopular measures
and demanded that 50 per cent and later 75 per cent of Belarusian
music be broadcast [by TV and radio channels]. There was much noise
and indignation. They were shouting that there are no high-quality
discs or good singers. Look at the result. Most national performers
have recorded their new albums over the last year. Moreover, this was
done with modern technology. Their songs go on the air organically
together with Russian and foreign hits. This is a normal generally
recognized practice. Western countries are defending their interests,
including in the cultural area, on the state level. Why shouldn't we
do this? How many foreign concerts did we have last year? Does anyone
know it? About 140 concerts were held only in Minsk.
[Passage omitted: Government should pay more attention to Belarusian
talented performers.]
No revolutions in Belarus
On stability and security. Everything we have created should be
reliably protected. The Belarusian people and authorities are equally
responsible for order and stability in this country. Therefore,
joint action by the state and society against any attempts to rock
the situation will be tough and adequate.
We are not pieces in somebody else's game. Nor are we pawns on
someone's chessboard, albeit a big one. We categorically reject
scenarios of a democratic change of political elites that are out
of favour with the West. In reality, all those coloured revolutions
are not revolutions at all. They are plain banditry disguised as
democracy. The Belarusian people fully exhausted the limit of such
revolutions last century.
I would like to ask you to take this into account. I am not idly
talking about long-term plans stretching to 2010. We will be
implementing these programmes and projects despite any extraneous
pressure. There is only one thing which can preclude us from performing
these tasks, namely the Belarusian people. No-one else. Not bandits
or imported revolutionaries. No amount of money will be able to topple
the existing authorities in Belarus. No amount of money and you should
bear it in mind.
I want those who carry this money in sacks and suitcases through
embassies to Belarus to hear this message. We know virtually
everything. Our silence does not mean that we are ignorant. We will
show up all sorts of charlatans to the Belarusian people. Things have
really touched bottom.
A US embassy official sold a car and declared it stolen the same
day. Then he packed off to the USA, having completed his allegedly
diplomatic mission. This is a flagrant demonstration of the
moral level of an embassy employee. When they were confronted with
documents confirming the sale of the car, the embassy sent him off in
a hurry. This is the purity of democrats who keep coming to Belarus to
force this democracy on us. This says nothing about those shown [on TV]
who were either blue [reference to their alleged gay sex orientation]
or green. They all want us to keep mum. We will not keep silent.
Warning to Polish embassy
I would also like to sound a warning to the Polish embassy and do
not regard it as a threat. We are well aware of what is going on
in your embassy and what you are working on. Do not work under the
pretension that Poles living in Belarus are not treated as Belarusian
citizens. They are our citizens. We will stand up for them and will not
allow you to pull wool over their eyes. They are currently devising
plans of action for 2006 [presidential election year]. Ukraine
is setting up training camps and says: we will be sending you
revolutionaries. Poles are trying to work in the western regions. One
of the means the use is connections in the Catholic Church. But so
far their efforts have not been too successful. Catholics are our
people and we do not limit their rights in any way.
We have long known that you will home in on this portion of the
population to destabilize the situation. They are also trying to
operate in Palesse. They are sick people. They do not realize that
Belarusians live in a totally different world, residents of Palesse
are our most reliable tenet and Poles in Belarus have long become our
Poles. They do not want to live anywhere else but in Belarus. They do
not want to go to Poland, Lithuania or other states. They are trying
to get in there. These people come to us and tell us everything. They
will never betray me. The first meeting which I attended was in Hrodna
in Poland or rather on the border with Poland with Poles. I have
done everything they asked me to and thus they have always respected
me. The international community will not look kindly on this. So
calm down. Please calm down for God's sake. Do something kind for
the country and its people. You have some people to take guidance from.
These include the ambassadors of Turkmenistan, Armenia, Russia and
others. There is a sea of people who are loyal to Belarus and love
this country. They do not act as merely ambassadors. History teaches
us that they [revolutions] bring nothing but the collapse of the
system of state, devastation of the economy, protracted civil strife,
blood and human suffering. This is hardly surprising as this banditry
is ordered and paid for by extraneous forces.
It was carried out on orders of those who care little about the
country and the people and who seek to gratify their imperialistic
ambitions and capture new markets. Someone will have to work off the
money invested in the revolution. This money will be worked not by
those who actually got it but by the people. Do these people really
need this? This question is rhetorical.
No secret banks accounts
Some might take issue with our independent policy. However, we will
never surrender or sell it. No matter what pressure is being piled
on me, my family and colleagues, this will never come to pass. This
is a waste of time. Do not look for bank accounts and do not post
false information on this pile of junk, the Internet, about Lukashenka
stealing something. I have not stolen anything and I am telling this
in front of the people. You have been searching for something I have
stolen for the last three years. It is time to show the people and
the world what this Lukashenka has actually stolen. You cannot come
up with anything. You have invaded Iraq and wrecked the whole country
but cannot find the accounts. We are talking about 11bn dollars,
which is no joke. It equals three state budgets. It is nit-picking
and it is truly surprising that a huge country, which is aspiring
to become the only empire and the only focal point of the world, is
resorting to this. It is hard to undo me with this The more stones you
throw at me, the less believable the whole thing looks to the people.
It is good that some new trends are emerging. They [opposition]
have travelled to Vilnius and we have received the minutes of this
gathering held behind closed doors. It boils down to this: give us
the money. We do not have any money so give us some or there will
be no revolution. Tomorrow may be too late, so give us the money
now. The Europeans tell them to hold on. They say that they will
give the money of through official channels under TACIS and other
programmes. It is too dangerous to transport money in suitcases. We
have shown them recently that we are fully aware of who is taking
the money and where. There are lots of people involved in this. The
situation smacks of absurdity.
There has been much ado about [Mikhail] Marynich [jailed opposition
leader]. We have shown what this man is about. He is said to be dying
in prison but he gets married the same day. You should have taken
a closer look at this man. In America it was reported that he was
about to die, but instead he gets married. If you continue with such
an approach, you will never stage a revolution in Belarus. [Applause].
No need for democracy lectures
You could pay us and we will help you to come up with something to
show for the money spent. I would like to draw the attention of the
people and the parliamentarians to who is trying to lecture us on
democracy. These lecturers in parenthesis have their hands full with
problems with democracy at home. Systematic violations of civil rights
during presidential elections in the USA and farcical EU membership
referenda bear this out. We are well aware of this as it is happening
near our borders. It is an open secret that the West has allocated
a great deal of funds to mount media pressure on our country. It is
clear why it is being done. The situation is developing in line with
the time-tried scenario. I would like to stress once again that some
new trends have emerged. We welcome this.
These new trends are not limited to Vilnius. Several dozen people
went to Washington to select a single presidential candidate. Although
people there are keenly interested in this, they said that they were
not mature enough to warrant multi-million dollar infusions. You
should pull your socks up and then we will see. There is no-one
to do that. They are all has-beens. They used to be members of my
teams. They did not get the portfolios they were seeking and thus
joined the opposition. Keep struggling, it is fine with me. We should
counteract this with truth. We live on our land and the people of
Belarus rather than extraneous power centres should make their destiny.
Army capable of defending Belarus
Today we have to acknowledge that the hopes for civilization's
peaceful development that emerged at the end of last century are not
coming true. The escalation of tension in critical regions points
to the world community's inability to guarantee the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of individual states. Some countries have
developed the habit of establishing peace and democracy on the planet
with the help of weapons. Therefore, strengthening Belarus's defence
capability remains a key challenge.
We have a blueprint worked out for military-technical policy up
to 2015, conditions are formed for qualitative reform of the armed
forces. They are getting better organized and more mobile.
I said up to 2015, but this should not be interpreted as if I
personally am going to implement this - to prevent embassies getting
shivers about Lukashenka intending to stay on until 2015.
This is confirmed by annual comprehensive operational and tactical
military exercises. We have recently conducted an unprecedented,
even for the Soviet army, exercise, where a situation close to real
combat was unexpectedly imitated and a number of military units were
put on alert. Military hardware that had been in long-term storage
since Soviet times was taken out. Reserve servicemen were called up.
We saw for ourselves that, despite some drawbacks, our armed forces
are capable of defending the people and protecting the independence
of our state. Our military industrial complex has shown it powerful
resource. We will continue to boost the potential of the defence
sector of the Belarusian economy. Any army should be battle-ready. A
law-abiding citizen in Belarus should live and work calmly. He should
not be afraid for his life.
The state should guarantee the safety of his family and his property. A
directive issued by the president was designed to achieve these ends.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka praises the directive aimed at boosting
discipline in the country.]
Friendship with Russia
Comprehensive cooperation and relations with fraternal Russia are
a strategic area. Our relations with it [Russia] remain unchanged,
and they are stable and trusted. They will be developed continuously
on principles laid down in the basis of our [Belarus-Russia] union
state treat
Our shared interests provide for effective cooperation in the field of
international relations. We are not only diplomatic but also military
allies. Being united, we are ready to face any challenges. You might
have noticed that regardless of some criticism inside Russia, as
there are different people in Russia and there are those who hate and
dislike us, there if full understanding in Russia by its leadership,
the president, practically by all the Russian people today that
Belarus has been and remains, maybe unfortunately, the only reliable
partner and ally of the Russian Federation. We are not hiding this,
we are not trying to demonstrate to the West - look how independent
we are, as former [Soviet] Union republics used to demonstrate -
and to prove our independence by standing against Russia. We have
never been against Russia - we have been saying this for 10 years -
and we will be never against Russia.
Many have said that the process of work within the [Belarus-Russia]
union state treaty and processes and trends under way have slowed
down. Yes, they have slowed down to a certain degree, but not
because our relations have cooled down. No. I cannot state this
fully today but all this had to do mostly with Ukraine at some
point. There were too big distractions for this. But neither I, nor
the Russian president, nor the leadership of Belarus and Russia has
ever stopped this process. We knew that everything depends on the
economy. And despite this disintegration taking place in the CIS,
we should preserve the basis, the economy, our good relations in
the areas of diplomacy, politics and so on. Yes, there is a certain
misunderstanding, probably a slowdown, concerning issues of principle
with regard to handing over some functions to future union bodies,
whether to create them or not and so on.
We are very careful about this. You see there is no pressure at all
either on our part or on the part of the Russian Federation. Vladimir
Vladimirovich [Putin] said this recently in Sochi. We may take reckless
steps today and reap the fruits of our mistakes afterwards. Why should
we do this today? Why should we give reason to say that we are no
longer a state and are surrendering our sovereignty? I understand very
well that some in Belarus are awaiting this and rubbing their hands to
protect sovereignty and territorial integrity with arms. I know this,
but we are not going to give such presents to anybody. Moreover, we are
not going to destroy our statehood. I have always been saying this as
president and I am keenly interested in this. We will not give anyone
banners so that they will use them to pound us. You understand what
I am talking about. But we have cooperated and will cooperate with
the Russian Federation in specific areas, coming closer and closer
to each other, by
unifying our legislation and economic relations.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka praises economic cooperation with Russia
and Ukraine]
"Pragmatic" relations with Europe
Our relations with united Europe are developing in a pragmatic
way. Many European countries have been our economic partners for
a long time. Belarusian exports to the EU grew by more than 40 per
cent last year. Moreover, the trade balance was positive. And we will
do everything to broaden economic cooperation with the big united
Europe and we are ready to make sacrifices and do everything possible
ourselves to make sure Europe feels comfortable in Belarus.
There have been many problems in political relations with the EU
so far. Not all Europeans are impressed by political stability in
Belarus, the social orientation of economic changes. I would like to
say once again: we are ready for any constructive cooperation based
on equal rights and mutual respect. And we are proving this with our
actions. Belarus is interested in resuming full-scale dialogue with
the USA, but without pushes, especially, taking into account positive
developments in trade and economic relations. At the same time,
we will not tolerate attempts at political pressure, threats, any
sanctions. We hope common sense will always prevail in our relations.
The multi-directional course of Belarus's foreign policy presupposes
strengthening ties with our partners in all regions of the world. There
will be mutual benefits.
[Passage omitted: upbeat comments about Belarus's trade with Asian
and African countries in 2004.]
Thanks to India, China for support in UN
In this respect, I would like to express gratitude particularly to
the leadership of great China, great India, Russia, Iran and other
states for the colossal support they have been providing to us in
international bodies. Moreover, they have not only been providing
support, they have actually taken us under their shelter. We will pay
them in kind. Our country will continue standing for strengthening
the UN role in solving the world's problems. But we stand against
the politicization of this influential organization and its bodies,
in particular, the Commission on Human Rights, against attempts to
abuse its authority in the interests of the powers that be. Even
more negative trends of politicization have been displayed in OSCE
activities. We stand for reforming this international structure
together with Russia, Kazakhstan, other states. On the whole, our
foreign policy may be described as worthy and consistent. This is
the unchangeable stance of the state which is aware of its worth and
which respects itself and others. This stance is not accidental. It
has been achieved by the Belarusian people through much suffering
and its roots lie in our heroic history.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka speaks about forthcoming Victory Day
celebrations, pledges support to World War II veterans, hails the
victory of the USSR and its western allies over Nazi Germany.]
Concern about "monuments to Nazis"
However, many of those willing to deprive us of this victory have
appeared today. The idea is that it was not we who won the war is being
persistently imposed by all means. I told you this seven years ago
when these trends just began to appear. There is a real information
aggression campaign being conducted through television, cinema,
literature and the press. A cynical and a tough one. Monuments to SS
soldiers are being unveiled in some countries, and we know them well,
huge state allowances are being paid to fascist henchmen. And those
who were fighting against the brown plague are leading a wretched
existence. They are not victors there today, they are occupying troops,
migrants, non-citizens. Revenge-seekers of all sorts are lifting up
their heads. Please note, one intelligent person, I do not remember
whether he was a Belarusian or a Russian, I watched it on TV, said:
the heads of those states and their people did not say then, after
the war, that they would erect monuments to SS soldiers. They declared
themselves among the victors over the fascism, Nazi Germany. Some time
has passed and today they are on the other side of the barricade. And
this man, a former servicemen, I believe, said: what would have
happened to these states if they had expressed this stance at that
time? They would not have been among the victors, they would have
been among the defeated with all the ensuing consequences. It was put
very aptly. And we should pay attention to this. But we have things
to set against it. Belarusian society is solid: steadfast veterans,
diligent workers and peasants, the well-educated intelligentsia and
the goal-oriented youth.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka praises Belarusians' moral values, praises
the quality of Belarusian textbooks on the history of World War II.]
Roots of success
It is high patriotism that is the cornerstone of our common home
called Belarus. Many political scientists are looking for the secrets
and causes of our stability. We do not hide them.
They include strong and efficient authorities, which do not and will
not allow anarchy to rule and political conflicts to happen. The
authorities working for the people's benefit, at least, we are trying
to do so.
They include a stable economy which makes it possible to improve the
people's wellbeing all the time. This is a formulated state ideology
that consolidates society and mobilizes it for the construction of
a flourishing state.
These are the solid grounds of civil society - councils, the public,
youth, trade unions, veteran organizations, which unite broad strata
of our population. These are the sources of our strength and confidence
in future.
Today Belarus is quite different from what it was yesterday. Have a
look how we have grown up and matured, how we are striding forward,
preserving the continuity of generations and assessing the past and
forecasting the future in the right way.
Addressing the Belarusian people and our parliamentarians, I am looking
with confidence into tomorrow, into the future being created today. I
believe it [the future] will be bright because we have been doing
everything in a consistent and well-justified manner to make sure
Belarus develops and flourishes and our children and grandchildren
are better off. Thank you for your attention.
Belarusian television, Minsk
19 Apr 05
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has pledged to stay the
course despite what he described as Western-sponsored attempts to
topple him. Delivering his annual state-of-the-nation address in
parliament, Lukashenka said Belarusians would not support anything
similar to the "coloured revolutions", which he said the West had
staged in neighbouring CIS countries. He accused Poland of setting
Catholics in western Belarus against him and said Ukraine was training
"revolutionaries" to oust him. Lukashenka warned that the latest
military exercise had shown that the Belarusian armed forces were
prepared to repel any foreign invasion. He accused the USA and European
countries of funding the Belarusian opposition. Lukashenka described
Belarus as Russia's most reliable ally, saying the union with Russia
would continue to develop. He devoted more than half of the two-hour
speech to his country's economic performance and targets. The following
is an excerpt from the speech by Lukashenka relayed live by Belarusian
TV on 19 April; subheadings inserted editorially:
[Lukashenka] As has already been said, in accordance with
the constitution of Belarus, the head of state makes an annual
state-of-the-nation address, which is one of the weighty presidential
responsibilities.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka outlines the content of the address,
says that there will be no sensational statements and praises the
economy and living standards.]
Economic successes despite unfavourable external factors
The banking sector is growing steadily. Inflation is on a downward
trend and the situation in the currency market is stable. It should be
noted that we have attained this without any foreign aid or support,
without injections by the IMF and other financial institutions. We
have done this in spite of all the developments around our country
and in spite of unprecedented pressure, which is still experienced
by Belarus. You are well aware of this. Presently life in Belarus has
taken on a new texture. Higher incomes open up new possibilities for
social development.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka outlines economic development plans for
2005. He adds that small companies should be taken over by larger
industrial companies and ailing enterprises should revert to the
state.]
Companies should be able to compete in the market place. You
should bear in mind the fact that Belarus is gearing up for WTO
membership. Our failure to secure WTO membership will not generate any
fear, as we will still be involved in all the processes currently
ongoing in international trade. The key process is cut-throat
competition and we, Belarusians with our open economy, which is
dependent on fuel imports, should withstand. I would like to reiterate
this point. All our modest successes in the economy have been scored
against the backdrop of both severe competition and an upswing in
prices of raw materials, which we import. If it were not for such
high prices, we would be living much better and our companies would
be much more profitable.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka promises support to floundering companies
and threatens to persecute corrupt managers.]
Need to reduce dependence on foreign energy
Manufacturing companies using local fuel will be given top-priority
treatment. I have already said that Belarus is dependent on imports
of energy resources. Thus, our strategic objective is to introduce
energy-saving technology and make a shift to alternative sources
of power. The topicality of maintaining our energy security can be
ascribed to rising prices at international markets and growing needs
of our economy. Our primary task is to increase the share of local
fuels by 25-30 per cent. If we are able to meet 25 per cent of our
energy needs using local resources, we could say that Belarus is an
independent and sovereign country. Otherwise, all this boils down
to pure rhetoric. Everybody should save energy, both companies and
the population.
It does not mean that Belarus has any problems with energy. Heat,
electricity and gas will always be available. They will be in abundance
but this will come at a price. Prices will maintain their relentless
creep upward towards international level. This is the trend in the
country where we buy all this from. As Russia internationalizes
domestic prices, it will not sell us gas at lower prices. Of course
it will not. We indeed have agreed to keep the price of gas in 2005 at
the level seen this year. It comes with strings attached. It does not
mean that Russia has given us a gift of 200m dollars due a difference
in price. This is because we have reached a deal with Gazprom [Russian
gas giant] whereby we will render certain services to this company
in Belarus. Belarus should gain something from its central location
in Europe. This is exactly the resource we are going to tap. Major
transnational companies are prepared to pay for this and they already
do so.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka says that efforts to lay gas distribution
pipelines will be continued in the regions. He promises to support
small businesses, which are involved in manufacturing. He stresses
that more should be done to make Belarusian science more effective.]
Investment policy
Manufacturing of hi-tech goods and modernization of manufacturing
facilities are impossible without a well-considered investment
policy. We do not need investment for the sake of investment. We
should always remember that investments are not a gift and
should be paid for by assets or profits. Thus we should clearly
realize what we need investment for and how much. We should shape a
scientifically-grounded demand for investment resources. We need no
new manufacturing facilities. We should not tie up capital in new,
bare-boned structures. We need hi-tech equipment, which ideally should
be Belarusian-made. Currently more than a hundred diverse investment
projects are being implemented. In 2004 fixed capital investment
was up 20 per cent year-on-year and reached more than 5bn dollars, a
level we considered out of reach three years ago. We got no handouts
from abroad. We relied on our domestic resource. Thus we are in no
way dependent on anyone in this respect.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka promises higher growth in fixed capital
investment in 2005 and years ahead. He outlines ways to revive the
agricultural sector. He urges the government to do more to develop
tourism and housing construction. He urges people to do more sport]
Need to stop brain drain
The education system has a big role in educational activities. We
have managed to preserve and develop the best achievements of the
Soviet school. We have not surrendered to fashionable innovations by
copying other countries' experience.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka dwells on need to take national interests
into account in reforming education.]
We can easily adjust our wonderful education system to world standards
and have no grievances or blame on the part of our neighbours. And
then you know, when studying this problem - you have probably noticed
that I often revisit it, two-three times a year - I have noticed that
our [switches to Belarusian] great, conscious [opposition members]
and scientists [switches to Russian again] say that our diplomas
and our specialists will not be in demand abroad. I ask them: whom
do you train specialists for? If they are not in demand, let it
be so. We need them here, in Belarus. Moreover, whatever kind of
system we had in Soviet times, I already told you who created the
Silicon Valley. Who? Russians, Belarusians and Jews from Belarus,
Russia and Ukraine. But at those times our system did not meet those
standards. However, they lured our most talented people. So, why are
we doing this? A good specialist will always find his vocation. And
our system is wonderful, I wish they had such a system.
[Passage omitted: Soviet achievements in the education sector should
be preserved and improved; foreign technology adopted.]
I would like to stress it once again that our education has world
prestige. This does not mean that we are training specialists for
export. We have no plans to subsidize foreign economies. If there are
such plans, they should be based on mutually beneficial interests. We
will bring up and develop talented young people ourselves because
any talent should be in demand in due time and in full.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka speaks about government support for
talented youth.]
I would like to address young people. Do not think that there is
heaven on Earth awaiting you somewhere beyond Belarus's borders. You
will never get everything and at once there. Prestigious posts are
not being prepared for you there. They have such posts for their own
residents. Ask those who have returned from there. When conducting a
brain storming session on the hi-tech park establishment recently,
we found out that indeed, our people, citizens of Belarus, Russia,
Ukraine and other republics are in demand in the USA, especially in
the West, and so on. But they are in demand as handymen but not in
the leading managerial positions where one can see the system on the
whole, assess and evaluate it. They are not allowed there. What will
be if he comes back to Belarus with the understanding of the whole
system? Therefore, he is a cog being screwed into the machine. Go
ahead, we will suck the juice from you. And this whole system belongs
to their people. Is this not true? Let us think it over, young people,
above all, whether it is worth going there to become a cog and what
you will get there in connection with this. A total of 99 per cent do
come back here several years later and all definitely come to their
native land to die.
[Passage omitted: Belarus needs young specialists itself; Lukashenka
speaks about his meetings with students and instructs officials and
teachers to pay more attention to work with young people.]
Human smuggling
Families willing to adopt orphans will be found here, in
Belarus. Foreign adoptions may take place only in exceptional cases,
as was said earlier. And the fate of each child going abroad should
be closely followed, which we have introduced recently. But I am
convinced that we are capable of bringing up our children ourselves
and we should do this. You know, not long ago media, especially
in the Russian Federation, reported about one of the thousands of
horrible cases. The thing I warned you of a year ago when I was told:
Alyaksandr Ryhoravich, how can we do without foreign adoptions? Why
should we do this [restrict adoptions] if they feel good there, if
the children want this? Can you imagine, at the age of five or six, or
even three, they want [to be adopted by foreigners]? What does it lead
to? About 500,000, half a million, or 600,000 [children] from Russia
were adopted outside the territory of the Russian Federation. I do not
know how many our children [have been adopted] over these 10 years,
a figure was mentioned. More than 1,000, I believe about 1,500. And
what? Are you sure that this is not happening to our children? It
is good that we have started registering them there now. We started
looking into what is happening there. In no case are we prohibiting
[child adoptions]. We are just looking at each child - whether
they should be adopted abroad or not. We considered this issue in a
thorough way, the education minister has allowed the adoption of five
children by foreigner over the last year, since the last address [to
parliament], when this problem was raised. Five, no more. Moreover,
it was done with guarantees from very responsible people.
We were speaking a lot about trade in people. I saw a discussion in
this hall where we came to the point of absurdity. What shall we do if
a married woman loves someone on the side, and why should we need this
law? My dear, the essence of this edict [against human trafficking]
and this law that you have approved already is not in this. The issue
is not in this. We should tell our people, not only women, because it
[the edict] deals not only with trafficking in women. We are not going
to hang marital fidelity belts on appropriate body parts. This is your
problem. Please be your own masters, but trade in women is prohibited
in our state. They say how can it be so? Let her be her own master.
Excuse me, why do we ban trade in drugs? We do ban [drugs] trade. And
this trade will not take place here. You see the direction the world is
moving. A woman, if we speak about her, a girl should decide herself
what to do. But if a person goes [abroad] to earn some money and they
are dragged to other places, we should offer this assistance to them,
including abroad, if they do not want this, excuse me for being
rude. Earlier nobody was responsible for this. [Interior Minister
Uladzimir] Navumaw spoke here. He cannot reveal the details, as the
investigation is still in progress. But when we looked into what
is happening there [presumably, in model business], now there are
no vacant places in a remand centre. They have been jailed because
they were trading [in women], receiving huge money, for example, up
to 10,000 [dollars] for one trip to the [United] Arab Emirates. Who
received this money? Those beauties? No. Mediators lined their pockets
with the money.
Foreign embassies, Russian oil company said involved in trafficking
Moreover, this is shadow, black money. Millions of dollars were
circulating. We have monitored the trends taking place and looked
at it in an open manner. This is the problem. Some deputies started
shivering: what will happen, as everybody has been banned [from
travelling abroad]? Nobody has been banned from anything. It is
impossible to impose bans, as we do not live in closed society. They
will travel via Russia or other states. There are enough charlatans
at the embassies present here, especially at the embassies of
Eastern European states, who are helping with trafficking people from
here. We have discovered this at certain representative offices of big
companies, [Russia's] LUKoil, above all, I will tell you frankly. They
have come here to refine oil but have been trafficking our girls abroad
instead. They were trafficked in batches, hundreds of people. They
have been jailed and are giving testimonies today. This is the problem.
[Passage omitted: the government does not mind trips abroad by
students but wants to make sure that Belarusians are properly treated
abroad. Lukashenka expands on development of culture, pledges support
to cultural figures.]
Belarusian pop music quota working well
All conditions for creative work by cultural figures have been
created in this country. I have even resorted to unpopular measures
and demanded that 50 per cent and later 75 per cent of Belarusian
music be broadcast [by TV and radio channels]. There was much noise
and indignation. They were shouting that there are no high-quality
discs or good singers. Look at the result. Most national performers
have recorded their new albums over the last year. Moreover, this was
done with modern technology. Their songs go on the air organically
together with Russian and foreign hits. This is a normal generally
recognized practice. Western countries are defending their interests,
including in the cultural area, on the state level. Why shouldn't we
do this? How many foreign concerts did we have last year? Does anyone
know it? About 140 concerts were held only in Minsk.
[Passage omitted: Government should pay more attention to Belarusian
talented performers.]
No revolutions in Belarus
On stability and security. Everything we have created should be
reliably protected. The Belarusian people and authorities are equally
responsible for order and stability in this country. Therefore,
joint action by the state and society against any attempts to rock
the situation will be tough and adequate.
We are not pieces in somebody else's game. Nor are we pawns on
someone's chessboard, albeit a big one. We categorically reject
scenarios of a democratic change of political elites that are out
of favour with the West. In reality, all those coloured revolutions
are not revolutions at all. They are plain banditry disguised as
democracy. The Belarusian people fully exhausted the limit of such
revolutions last century.
I would like to ask you to take this into account. I am not idly
talking about long-term plans stretching to 2010. We will be
implementing these programmes and projects despite any extraneous
pressure. There is only one thing which can preclude us from performing
these tasks, namely the Belarusian people. No-one else. Not bandits
or imported revolutionaries. No amount of money will be able to topple
the existing authorities in Belarus. No amount of money and you should
bear it in mind.
I want those who carry this money in sacks and suitcases through
embassies to Belarus to hear this message. We know virtually
everything. Our silence does not mean that we are ignorant. We will
show up all sorts of charlatans to the Belarusian people. Things have
really touched bottom.
A US embassy official sold a car and declared it stolen the same
day. Then he packed off to the USA, having completed his allegedly
diplomatic mission. This is a flagrant demonstration of the
moral level of an embassy employee. When they were confronted with
documents confirming the sale of the car, the embassy sent him off in
a hurry. This is the purity of democrats who keep coming to Belarus to
force this democracy on us. This says nothing about those shown [on TV]
who were either blue [reference to their alleged gay sex orientation]
or green. They all want us to keep mum. We will not keep silent.
Warning to Polish embassy
I would also like to sound a warning to the Polish embassy and do
not regard it as a threat. We are well aware of what is going on
in your embassy and what you are working on. Do not work under the
pretension that Poles living in Belarus are not treated as Belarusian
citizens. They are our citizens. We will stand up for them and will not
allow you to pull wool over their eyes. They are currently devising
plans of action for 2006 [presidential election year]. Ukraine
is setting up training camps and says: we will be sending you
revolutionaries. Poles are trying to work in the western regions. One
of the means the use is connections in the Catholic Church. But so
far their efforts have not been too successful. Catholics are our
people and we do not limit their rights in any way.
We have long known that you will home in on this portion of the
population to destabilize the situation. They are also trying to
operate in Palesse. They are sick people. They do not realize that
Belarusians live in a totally different world, residents of Palesse
are our most reliable tenet and Poles in Belarus have long become our
Poles. They do not want to live anywhere else but in Belarus. They do
not want to go to Poland, Lithuania or other states. They are trying
to get in there. These people come to us and tell us everything. They
will never betray me. The first meeting which I attended was in Hrodna
in Poland or rather on the border with Poland with Poles. I have
done everything they asked me to and thus they have always respected
me. The international community will not look kindly on this. So
calm down. Please calm down for God's sake. Do something kind for
the country and its people. You have some people to take guidance from.
These include the ambassadors of Turkmenistan, Armenia, Russia and
others. There is a sea of people who are loyal to Belarus and love
this country. They do not act as merely ambassadors. History teaches
us that they [revolutions] bring nothing but the collapse of the
system of state, devastation of the economy, protracted civil strife,
blood and human suffering. This is hardly surprising as this banditry
is ordered and paid for by extraneous forces.
It was carried out on orders of those who care little about the
country and the people and who seek to gratify their imperialistic
ambitions and capture new markets. Someone will have to work off the
money invested in the revolution. This money will be worked not by
those who actually got it but by the people. Do these people really
need this? This question is rhetorical.
No secret banks accounts
Some might take issue with our independent policy. However, we will
never surrender or sell it. No matter what pressure is being piled
on me, my family and colleagues, this will never come to pass. This
is a waste of time. Do not look for bank accounts and do not post
false information on this pile of junk, the Internet, about Lukashenka
stealing something. I have not stolen anything and I am telling this
in front of the people. You have been searching for something I have
stolen for the last three years. It is time to show the people and
the world what this Lukashenka has actually stolen. You cannot come
up with anything. You have invaded Iraq and wrecked the whole country
but cannot find the accounts. We are talking about 11bn dollars,
which is no joke. It equals three state budgets. It is nit-picking
and it is truly surprising that a huge country, which is aspiring
to become the only empire and the only focal point of the world, is
resorting to this. It is hard to undo me with this The more stones you
throw at me, the less believable the whole thing looks to the people.
It is good that some new trends are emerging. They [opposition]
have travelled to Vilnius and we have received the minutes of this
gathering held behind closed doors. It boils down to this: give us
the money. We do not have any money so give us some or there will
be no revolution. Tomorrow may be too late, so give us the money
now. The Europeans tell them to hold on. They say that they will
give the money of through official channels under TACIS and other
programmes. It is too dangerous to transport money in suitcases. We
have shown them recently that we are fully aware of who is taking
the money and where. There are lots of people involved in this. The
situation smacks of absurdity.
There has been much ado about [Mikhail] Marynich [jailed opposition
leader]. We have shown what this man is about. He is said to be dying
in prison but he gets married the same day. You should have taken
a closer look at this man. In America it was reported that he was
about to die, but instead he gets married. If you continue with such
an approach, you will never stage a revolution in Belarus. [Applause].
No need for democracy lectures
You could pay us and we will help you to come up with something to
show for the money spent. I would like to draw the attention of the
people and the parliamentarians to who is trying to lecture us on
democracy. These lecturers in parenthesis have their hands full with
problems with democracy at home. Systematic violations of civil rights
during presidential elections in the USA and farcical EU membership
referenda bear this out. We are well aware of this as it is happening
near our borders. It is an open secret that the West has allocated
a great deal of funds to mount media pressure on our country. It is
clear why it is being done. The situation is developing in line with
the time-tried scenario. I would like to stress once again that some
new trends have emerged. We welcome this.
These new trends are not limited to Vilnius. Several dozen people
went to Washington to select a single presidential candidate. Although
people there are keenly interested in this, they said that they were
not mature enough to warrant multi-million dollar infusions. You
should pull your socks up and then we will see. There is no-one
to do that. They are all has-beens. They used to be members of my
teams. They did not get the portfolios they were seeking and thus
joined the opposition. Keep struggling, it is fine with me. We should
counteract this with truth. We live on our land and the people of
Belarus rather than extraneous power centres should make their destiny.
Army capable of defending Belarus
Today we have to acknowledge that the hopes for civilization's
peaceful development that emerged at the end of last century are not
coming true. The escalation of tension in critical regions points
to the world community's inability to guarantee the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of individual states. Some countries have
developed the habit of establishing peace and democracy on the planet
with the help of weapons. Therefore, strengthening Belarus's defence
capability remains a key challenge.
We have a blueprint worked out for military-technical policy up
to 2015, conditions are formed for qualitative reform of the armed
forces. They are getting better organized and more mobile.
I said up to 2015, but this should not be interpreted as if I
personally am going to implement this - to prevent embassies getting
shivers about Lukashenka intending to stay on until 2015.
This is confirmed by annual comprehensive operational and tactical
military exercises. We have recently conducted an unprecedented,
even for the Soviet army, exercise, where a situation close to real
combat was unexpectedly imitated and a number of military units were
put on alert. Military hardware that had been in long-term storage
since Soviet times was taken out. Reserve servicemen were called up.
We saw for ourselves that, despite some drawbacks, our armed forces
are capable of defending the people and protecting the independence
of our state. Our military industrial complex has shown it powerful
resource. We will continue to boost the potential of the defence
sector of the Belarusian economy. Any army should be battle-ready. A
law-abiding citizen in Belarus should live and work calmly. He should
not be afraid for his life.
The state should guarantee the safety of his family and his property. A
directive issued by the president was designed to achieve these ends.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka praises the directive aimed at boosting
discipline in the country.]
Friendship with Russia
Comprehensive cooperation and relations with fraternal Russia are
a strategic area. Our relations with it [Russia] remain unchanged,
and they are stable and trusted. They will be developed continuously
on principles laid down in the basis of our [Belarus-Russia] union
state treat
Our shared interests provide for effective cooperation in the field of
international relations. We are not only diplomatic but also military
allies. Being united, we are ready to face any challenges. You might
have noticed that regardless of some criticism inside Russia, as
there are different people in Russia and there are those who hate and
dislike us, there if full understanding in Russia by its leadership,
the president, practically by all the Russian people today that
Belarus has been and remains, maybe unfortunately, the only reliable
partner and ally of the Russian Federation. We are not hiding this,
we are not trying to demonstrate to the West - look how independent
we are, as former [Soviet] Union republics used to demonstrate -
and to prove our independence by standing against Russia. We have
never been against Russia - we have been saying this for 10 years -
and we will be never against Russia.
Many have said that the process of work within the [Belarus-Russia]
union state treaty and processes and trends under way have slowed
down. Yes, they have slowed down to a certain degree, but not
because our relations have cooled down. No. I cannot state this
fully today but all this had to do mostly with Ukraine at some
point. There were too big distractions for this. But neither I, nor
the Russian president, nor the leadership of Belarus and Russia has
ever stopped this process. We knew that everything depends on the
economy. And despite this disintegration taking place in the CIS,
we should preserve the basis, the economy, our good relations in
the areas of diplomacy, politics and so on. Yes, there is a certain
misunderstanding, probably a slowdown, concerning issues of principle
with regard to handing over some functions to future union bodies,
whether to create them or not and so on.
We are very careful about this. You see there is no pressure at all
either on our part or on the part of the Russian Federation. Vladimir
Vladimirovich [Putin] said this recently in Sochi. We may take reckless
steps today and reap the fruits of our mistakes afterwards. Why should
we do this today? Why should we give reason to say that we are no
longer a state and are surrendering our sovereignty? I understand very
well that some in Belarus are awaiting this and rubbing their hands to
protect sovereignty and territorial integrity with arms. I know this,
but we are not going to give such presents to anybody. Moreover, we are
not going to destroy our statehood. I have always been saying this as
president and I am keenly interested in this. We will not give anyone
banners so that they will use them to pound us. You understand what
I am talking about. But we have cooperated and will cooperate with
the Russian Federation in specific areas, coming closer and closer
to each other, by
unifying our legislation and economic relations.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka praises economic cooperation with Russia
and Ukraine]
"Pragmatic" relations with Europe
Our relations with united Europe are developing in a pragmatic
way. Many European countries have been our economic partners for
a long time. Belarusian exports to the EU grew by more than 40 per
cent last year. Moreover, the trade balance was positive. And we will
do everything to broaden economic cooperation with the big united
Europe and we are ready to make sacrifices and do everything possible
ourselves to make sure Europe feels comfortable in Belarus.
There have been many problems in political relations with the EU
so far. Not all Europeans are impressed by political stability in
Belarus, the social orientation of economic changes. I would like to
say once again: we are ready for any constructive cooperation based
on equal rights and mutual respect. And we are proving this with our
actions. Belarus is interested in resuming full-scale dialogue with
the USA, but without pushes, especially, taking into account positive
developments in trade and economic relations. At the same time,
we will not tolerate attempts at political pressure, threats, any
sanctions. We hope common sense will always prevail in our relations.
The multi-directional course of Belarus's foreign policy presupposes
strengthening ties with our partners in all regions of the world. There
will be mutual benefits.
[Passage omitted: upbeat comments about Belarus's trade with Asian
and African countries in 2004.]
Thanks to India, China for support in UN
In this respect, I would like to express gratitude particularly to
the leadership of great China, great India, Russia, Iran and other
states for the colossal support they have been providing to us in
international bodies. Moreover, they have not only been providing
support, they have actually taken us under their shelter. We will pay
them in kind. Our country will continue standing for strengthening
the UN role in solving the world's problems. But we stand against
the politicization of this influential organization and its bodies,
in particular, the Commission on Human Rights, against attempts to
abuse its authority in the interests of the powers that be. Even
more negative trends of politicization have been displayed in OSCE
activities. We stand for reforming this international structure
together with Russia, Kazakhstan, other states. On the whole, our
foreign policy may be described as worthy and consistent. This is
the unchangeable stance of the state which is aware of its worth and
which respects itself and others. This stance is not accidental. It
has been achieved by the Belarusian people through much suffering
and its roots lie in our heroic history.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka speaks about forthcoming Victory Day
celebrations, pledges support to World War II veterans, hails the
victory of the USSR and its western allies over Nazi Germany.]
Concern about "monuments to Nazis"
However, many of those willing to deprive us of this victory have
appeared today. The idea is that it was not we who won the war is being
persistently imposed by all means. I told you this seven years ago
when these trends just began to appear. There is a real information
aggression campaign being conducted through television, cinema,
literature and the press. A cynical and a tough one. Monuments to SS
soldiers are being unveiled in some countries, and we know them well,
huge state allowances are being paid to fascist henchmen. And those
who were fighting against the brown plague are leading a wretched
existence. They are not victors there today, they are occupying troops,
migrants, non-citizens. Revenge-seekers of all sorts are lifting up
their heads. Please note, one intelligent person, I do not remember
whether he was a Belarusian or a Russian, I watched it on TV, said:
the heads of those states and their people did not say then, after
the war, that they would erect monuments to SS soldiers. They declared
themselves among the victors over the fascism, Nazi Germany. Some time
has passed and today they are on the other side of the barricade. And
this man, a former servicemen, I believe, said: what would have
happened to these states if they had expressed this stance at that
time? They would not have been among the victors, they would have
been among the defeated with all the ensuing consequences. It was put
very aptly. And we should pay attention to this. But we have things
to set against it. Belarusian society is solid: steadfast veterans,
diligent workers and peasants, the well-educated intelligentsia and
the goal-oriented youth.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka praises Belarusians' moral values, praises
the quality of Belarusian textbooks on the history of World War II.]
Roots of success
It is high patriotism that is the cornerstone of our common home
called Belarus. Many political scientists are looking for the secrets
and causes of our stability. We do not hide them.
They include strong and efficient authorities, which do not and will
not allow anarchy to rule and political conflicts to happen. The
authorities working for the people's benefit, at least, we are trying
to do so.
They include a stable economy which makes it possible to improve the
people's wellbeing all the time. This is a formulated state ideology
that consolidates society and mobilizes it for the construction of
a flourishing state.
These are the solid grounds of civil society - councils, the public,
youth, trade unions, veteran organizations, which unite broad strata
of our population. These are the sources of our strength and confidence
in future.
Today Belarus is quite different from what it was yesterday. Have a
look how we have grown up and matured, how we are striding forward,
preserving the continuity of generations and assessing the past and
forecasting the future in the right way.
Addressing the Belarusian people and our parliamentarians, I am looking
with confidence into tomorrow, into the future being created today. I
believe it [the future] will be bright because we have been doing
everything in a consistent and well-justified manner to make sure
Belarus develops and flourishes and our children and grandchildren
are better off. Thank you for your attention.