Alexander Lukashenko, the only leader Belarus has known in its brief history, said on Friday that he will not be in power for the first time in 26 years once a new national constitution is adopted.
Belarus has been the scene of massive protests – and an alarming crackdown on dissidents – ever since Lukashenko claimed victory for a sixth term in a disputed election on August 9.
“I am not going to shape the constitution to suit my needs. I am not going to be the president once the new constitution is in place,” Lukashenko said while visiting a hospital filled with coronavirus patients in Minsk on Friday.
“We need to create a new constitution but it should benefit the country. I don’t want the country to fall to ruin later on,” he added, according to Belarusan state media sources quoted by NBC News.
These developments seem like a surprisingly nonchalant end to Lukashenko’s reign as “Europe’s last dictator,” as detractors often call him, especially since he fought so hard to retain power over the past three months. NBC News allowed for the possibility that Lukashenko was merely “paying lip service to the prospect of him stepping aside” rather than firmly announcing his impending resignation.
Belarusan protesters and opposition leaders certainly did not expect Lukashenko to throw in the towel. Thousands of people were still marching in the streets of Minsk and other cities this week, and the police were still arresting them by the hundreds, with a recent emphasis on detaining female demonstrators. Reporters attempting to cover the protests were still complaining about police abuse.
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) became the latest body to contemplate sanctions against the Lukashenko regime, due to the “growing number of worrying reports concerning athletes, officials, and sports in Belarus” that have been persecuted for criticizing... (Read more)
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