Events

Belarus president against drastic Internet restrictions

MINSK, 19 April (BelTA) – Proposals to cut off Belarusian Internet from the rest of the World Wide Web are not the way out. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the relevant statement as he addressed the nation and the parliament on 19 April, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned growing external and internal mass media pressure. In his opinion, it is high time decisive measures were taken to bolster the country’s information security.

Internet is the main source of information for the majority of people. The distribution of genuinely false and provocative information via the Internet is particularly worrying. Yet the head of state is against proposals to “shut down” the Internet.

“All kinds of people bring proposals to me. If someone wants to ‘shut down’ the Internet and create some separate web, it is nonsense,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Instead of shutting down the Internet Aleksandr Lukashenko called upon civil servants to work harder with the online community. “You haven’t been there and haven’t worked there, yet you already suggest shutting down everything, chocking everyone, and throwing away everyone,” he said. Instead the head of state gave instructions to pay attention to various kinds of web pages, including those created in social networks. “Our neighbors ‘help’ us in this regard. Those, who come to work in Belarus, do the same. They are the ones that need to get their brains fixed. If you come to a country, do your work properly. We fight wrong people and we use wrong methods,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

In his opinion, it is necessary to use adequate methods, however, excessiveness is out of the question. “But if you get into a fight, then you should fight and win,” the head of state concluded.

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