"If someone does not want to work, do not force": Lukashenko ordered to close the striking enterprises

The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed the regional authorities from Monday, August 24, to close all enterprises where the strikes began. He made such a statement, speaking at a rally of his supporters in Grodno.

“If someone doesn’t want to work, don’t force them. Do not. We still will not force them and will not persuade them. The country will survive, ”the president said.

“But if the enterprise does not work, we will stop the lock on the gate from Monday. People will cool down - we will figure out who to invite to this enterprise later, ”he noted.

Speaking to fellow citizens, Lukashenko also noted that the organizers of the riots that began in the country after the announcement of the results of the presidential elections were persons acting from abroad.

“Different people are going across the border ... They have arrived, waving flags, buzzing, driving you into riots. The nucleus of the instigators of the riots are not Grodno, not Belarusians. They are sitting there - near Warsaw, near Vilnius, ”he said.

Lukashenka also expressed the opinion that if he had ceased to occupy the presidency, the republic would have already been "broken, crumbled and spat out."

“On the western border it is restless: they rattle with weapons, threaten, openly interfere in the internal affairs of our sovereign state,” the president said, adding that troops and special forces should be at the border, but they have to ensure security “in the squares”.

According to him, in the current situation there were people who "are pushing the country into the abyss of discord and hatred." He also called on the border guards to strengthen control and prevent militants, provocateurs and weapons from entering the territory of Belarus.

In a conversation with RT correspondent Konstantin Pridybailo after the rally, Alexander Lukashenko explained that for some time after the start of the protests he did not go out to his supporters, as he was afraid of clashes between demonstrators.

“Honestly, I knew it would be so. I was afraid of collisions during that acute period. And they were getting ready for this: if Lukashenka's people come out, we will kill them. I was afraid that these people would suffer. So we paused. Well, maybe we did a little too much, ”he explained.

• "Honestly, I knew it would be this way"

In addition, answering a question from RT correspondent Igor Zhdanov about how communication with Russia is now going on, Lukashenko noted that he and Putin agreed on the current situation.

“We are being hounded here in order to rush to Russia later. This is a springboard, and we must destroy it. This is our shared opinion with President Putin. Someone in Russia - I often see this in the media - says: "Oh, in Belarus, ah, in Belarus." Not in Belarus, you have it, right here, on the western border. They press, hound. And we agreed with Putin, ”he stressed.

• "We are being hounded here in order to rush to Russia later."

"According to the plan of" color revolutions "

On the morning of August 22, Lukashenko visited the training ground of the 6th Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade near Grodno. During the visit, Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin reported to the head of state on the preparations for a comprehensive tactical exercise with a combined group in the Grodno direction, and also informed about the situation near the Belarusian borders.

In turn, the president said that certain forces are trying to direct the situation in Belarus according to the scenario of "color revolutions".

"All clear. As we expected, everything is going according to the plan of "color revolutions" with the agitation of the internal political situation in the country. The originality and peculiarity of the situation lies in the fact that an external factor is connected, which is not always the case. Usually they spin inside, overthrow the current government. But since the authorities are in place, they are firmly resisting (and not only resisting, but also controlling the situation), they have connected an external factor, ”Lukashenka noted.

He stressed that the opponents want to disperse the forces of the country's law enforcement agencies, distract them from the internal situation and focus on the external border. At the same time, according to the president, there is an intensification of protest moods in society. The head of state added that his opponents are “dragging” an “alternative president” to the country and are doing it seriously, as statements of Western states about funding and support are “pouring in”.

“The military support is evident - the movement of NATO troops to the borders. They are all moving towards dragging the supposedly new president here. He appeals to Western states - in this case NATO - to protect the population. They bring in troops - and you can put an end to Belarus, ”Lukashenka said.

According to the Belarusian leader, such statements by high-ranking representatives of Western countries are direct interference in the situation in the republic.

During his visit to the training ground, Lukashenko also instructed the Minister of Defense and the Commander of the Western Operational Command to take "the toughest measures to protect the territorial integrity of the country."

In addition, the President said that the authorities in the current realities, instead of dealing with the economy and the necessary internal affairs of the country, have to pay attention to the issues of stabilizing the situation.

“I wouldn't even say that inside the country. First of all, this is Minsk. I do not even want to name Grodno here from the point of view of the present day. However, what worries me most is that an external factor has been added to this internal situation. We see a serious movement of NATO troops in the immediate vicinity of our borders, on the territory of Poland and Lithuania, ”the press service of the head of state quotes Lukashenka.

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The President clarified that because of the current situation, for the first time in a quarter century, it was necessary to make "the most serious decision", which consists in bringing the main units of the armed forces to full combat readiness and the transfer of troops to the western direction.

Let's remind that the protests in Belarus began after the announcement of the preliminary results of the presidential elections on the evening of August 9. People took to the streets of the cities of the country, dissatisfied with the results of the vote. The protests escalated into riots and clashes between demonstrators and security forces. In the first days, about 7 thousand people were detained, dozens of people were injured, two civilians were killed. Subsequent actions took place peacefully.

On August 19, a summit of the leaders of the European Union was held, following which it became known about the EU's intention to soon impose sanctions against "a significant number of those responsible for the violence in the republic and election fraud."