Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko draws parallels between natural disaster, warfare

MINSK, 19 July (BelTA) – The thunderstorm aftermath in some regions of the country was akin to war, only with no shooting, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a teleconference on 19 July, BelTA has learned.

“People keep complaining that something still has not been done. You know that every morning and evening I am constantly in contact with members of the government, ministers, everyone who is engaged in the work. I gave instructions to see what has not been done yet, to deal with people’s complaints. I hear out regular reports from the State Control Committee and the chairman of the State Security Committee,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Still there are people who always say that everything is bad, the head of state said. “People do not want to understand that it is an emergency situation. It is akin to war, only there is no shooting. This period is akin to war. And no one wants to ask themselves about what efforts they took to overcome the disaster consequences,” the president said.

In his words, there are citizens who have been helping remove debris and fallen trees, providing assistance to utility workers. “These are real heroes,” the head of state said. On the other hand, there are also those who do nothing and expect the authorities to solve all the problems.

“These are my complaints as president to people. More generally, however, there are a lot of shortcomings. This is our bad habit: never-ending reports saying that everything is good. Why are you lying to me? I will double-check, you know it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

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