Minsk prepares to counter destabilization attempts during election period — Lukashenko
According to Lukashenko, the several hundred of most active opposition figures seek to prove to their Western puppeteers that "they can do more than simply make posts on Telegram channels"
MINSK, March 22. /TASS/. Belarusian authorities prepare to counter the attempts of the West-funded opposition to destabilize the situation in the country by force of arms during the upcoming 2024-2025 electoral campaigns, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters Wednesday.
"We know where they [the foreign opposition - TASS] are preparing to go, how they are preparing. They have started to get active now. If they fail to obtain money, their days are numbered. This is why they try to prove that they can do something, and all this will be timed to the elections. We are getting ready from the standpoint of ensuring people’s security," he said.
According to Lukashenko, the several hundred of most active opposition figures seek to prove to their Western puppeteers that "they can do more than simply make posts on Telegram channels."
"There is only one goal: war. […] They tried everything: rebellion, color revolutions, war in the media, which continues to this day. They have one option that they can still try: to take up arms and to try to fight. So this is what they are trying to show, they are getting ready," the Belarusian President explained.
He noted that he is ready to accept the result of the expression of the public will.
"As always, it is up for the people to decide. If you decide that you need a different life, then by all means, give it a try. But I do not want things to happen like they happen in Ukraine today. I have children, many of you have children. I would like the children to have a normal life," Lukashenko concluded.
In late February, State Security Committee (KGB) Chairman Ivan Tertel said that the opposition plans further actions on destabilizing the situation in the country, including during the 2024-2025 electoral campaign period. In late October, 2022, State Secretary of the Belarusian Security Council Alexander Wolfovich made a similar warning. According to Wolfovich, anti-Belarusian centers will try to organize sabotage and provoke mass riots that will escalate into an armed standoff with the state.