Lukashenko Preparing "Tough Measures" in Response to Sanctions

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko instructed to prepare a response "up to the toughest measures" to the Western countries' possible sanctions against the official Minsk. As the head of state informed at the meeting on some domestic issues on January 20, the Government of Belarus will be responsible for the development of concrete steps.

"If someone tries to impose economic or other sanctions on the country, we must respond immediately, up to the toughest measures. We won't let anybody make us bow. This should affect absolutely everyone, trying to oppress and block the country - whether it's a separate group of countries or even the EU as a whole," said President of Belarus, BelTA informs.

Alexander Lukashenko instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop and provide "concrete proposals to combat anti-Belarusian campaign abroad." "We need to develop a set of measures to prevent our country from being a pawn in someone else's game, as well as from destruction of our economy, security and sovereignty," added the President.

Telegraf.by

Belarus attacks 'European meddling'

Belarus state media has kept up a barrage of criticism against Western countries, accusing them of seeking to overthrow Alexander Lukashenko, the president, during last month's disputed presidential election.

As police continued a sweep of opposition offices in the wake of unrest in which hundreds of activists were arrested, state-controlled newspapers accused European diplomats of attending a big opposition rally during the election.

"The participation of diplomats in unsanctioned meetings was taken by the crowd as support for their actions and awakened very zealous people to take decisive action," an article, published by several newspapers, said.

It singled out diplomats from Britain, Sweden, Latvia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. On Friday, Sovietskaya Belarussia, a pro-Lukashenko newspaper, accused the intelligence services of Germany and Poland of trying to organise a coup during the unrest that accompanied the December 19 election.

Poland and Germany have dismissed the allegations.

Al Jazeera

Belarus president re-elected

Alexander Lukashenko has won a fourth term as the president of Belarus following an election marred by a violent police crackdown on demonstrators and the arrest of opposition challengers.

The state electoral commission said early on Monday that Lukashenko had won 79.7 per cent with 100 per cent of votes counted in the former Soviet republic. It put voter turnout in sub-zero temperatures at more than 90 per cent.

Separately, Russian election observers invited by the Belarus leader ruled that the election was legitimate.
But international observers and western governments accused Belarus' leader of using fraud and violence to remain in power after more than 16 years of repressive rule, saying on Monday that Lukashenko's re-election had been seriously flawed.
US and European leaders have criticized Lukashenko for a wave of violence directed at rival presidential candidates and their supporters in the hours after the election.
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the count in Sunday's vote was "bad or very bad'' in half the country's precincts.
It also strongly criticised the violent dispersal by riot police of a post-election protest rally.

Lukashenko on Monday bristled at the criticism of how police handled the demonstration, saying it was beyond the OSCE election observers' mandate. "What does what happened at night have to do with the election? The election was over,'' he said at a news conference. Al Jazeera 

Belarus strongman brutally suppresses post-election uprising - The Telegraph

Belarus president's rival Vladimir Neklyayev dragged from hospital bed – The Guardian

Editor of opposition Belarusian website found dead

A popular opposition website in authoritarian Belarus says its editor was found dead amid an ongoing crackdown on government critics and independent media.

Natalya Radina of the Charter97 website said 36-year-old Oleg Bebenin's body was found Friday in his country house outside the capital, Minsk. She says the cause of death was not immediately clear.

Police refused to comment.

Bebenin founded the website in 1998 and maintained it despite growing official pressure.

Run by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, Belarus has been labeled Europe's last dictatorship. Television and most print media are state-controlled, and many independent newspapers ordered closed have taken refuge in cyberspace.

The Associated Press – Charter ‘97