Belarus’s authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has ordered his defence minister to take “stringent measures” to defend the country’s territorial integrity after mass protests against his claim to election victory. The 65-year-old, who said he won a sixth presidential term with 80% of the vote in the 9 August ballot, made the comments on Saturday while inspecting military units in Grodno, near Belarus’s border with Poland, according to the president’s press service. Lukashenko denounced the recent mass protests, which he said were receiving support from Western countries, and ordered the army to defend western Belarus, which he described as “a pearl”.“It involves taking the most stringent measures to protect the territorial integrity of our country,” Lukashenko said. Opposition figurehead Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to Lithuania after the election, said Lukashenko’s comments were an attempt to “distract attention from our inner problems”. Tikhanovskaya urged pro-democracy protesters to keep up the momentum, saying Lukashenko had “no choice” but to engage with the opposition.“I am so proud of Belarusians now because after 26 years of fear they are ready to defend their rights,” she said in Vilnius, on the eve of what are expected to be mass protests in Belarus on Sunday.“I call them to continue, not to stop, because it’s really important now to continue to be united in the struggle for the rights. They have to understand that we are not a protest movement. We are people of Belarus and we are a majority and we will not step away. We are not afraid of them any more.”Lukashenko’s visit to Grodno came ahead of large-scale military exercises planned in the region between 28-31 August. The former collective farm director said that Nato troops in Poland and Lithuania were “seriously stirring” near their borders with Belarus and ordered his troops into full combat readiness. Both countries denied the accusation, while Nato called the claims baseless.

All data is taken from the source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Article Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/23/lukashenko-vows-to-defend-belarus-borders-as-more-mass-protests-planned


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