Opinions & Interviews

Eismont reveals details of closed part of president’s meeting with law enforcers

MINSK, 20 August (BelTA) – Requirements for the quality work of the law enforcement bodies in Belarus will be toughened further. Violations of the law, including banditry and corruption, will be treated by the state as before and even tougher, Belarus president's spokesperson Natalya Eismont told the media after Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s meeting with the country’s law enforcement bodies on 20 August, BelTA has learned.

The meeting lasted for three and a half hours, and it was a difficult but frank conversation, said Natalya Eismont. “Those who wanted to see some upcoming concessions here or some kind of a PR campaign, simply underestimate the situation and do not know our president. Requirements will only become tougher from today,” the president’s spokesperson said.

The head of state also demanded that innocent people should not suffer during the criminal investigation. “Justice is a key word here. The control over the quality of work of law enforcement agencies will be strengthened. This is what justice means,” said Natalya Eismont.

During the meeting Aleksandr Lukashenko outlined shortcomings in the law enforcers’ work. “Today, the president declassified one of the most important documents, which he received after a scrupulous preparation by the appropriate agencies. The president did not turn the attention to some concrete facts, but spoke in general. The main thing was to name the problems and shortcomings and get the explanations from those present at the meeting,” the spokesperson said.

According to Natalya Eismont, during the closed part of the meeting each participant had the opportunity to speak and present their position. For example, the head of the Belarus President Administration and the state secretary of the Security Council gave their assessment of the situation. The chairman of the Supreme Court elaborated on the work of the Investigative Committee, highlighting the shortcomings and making a number of proposals. “The president also spoke with the governors, as they are his first representatives in the regions. The president’s strict demand here was that they should see the situation and inform the president about any issues in time. This was the key message of the head of state to the participants of the meeting,” the spokesperson said.

Speaking about the outcome of the meeting, Natalya Eismont said that it was a truly historic moment for the Belarusian law enforcement system, a serious turn in their work. “You know very well our president’s attitude to corruption, economic crimes, and generally to violations of the law in any form. Therefore, from today, requirements for quality and justice will become tougher,” the spokesperson said.

At the end of the meeting Aleksandr Lukashenko added that in general the country has built up a good law enforcement system. However, the Belarusian leader asked the heads of the law enforcement bodies not to turn a blind eye to the existing negative manifestations, but to eliminate all the bottlenecks and, most importantly, to see the person behind each case.

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