Foreign policy expert: Lukashenko has strong bureaucratic support

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has won a presidential “false election” on August 9, but thus he has lost the society's trust and support, Andris Sprūds, foreign policy expert, said in an interview on Latvian Television August 21.

According to Sprūds, Belarus is no longer the country it was, for example, 26 years ago. Lukashenko is currently actually President of OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) and Belarusian bureaucracies. As long as OMON and the bureaucracy structures support Lukashenko as president, he will remain in the position.

What is happening in Belarus, according to Sprūds, is resembling what is happening in Venezuela. After Nicholas Maduro became its president - also unrecognized by a number of countries around the world - there is chaos in Venezuela and Maduro is still holding the reins of power.

Sprūds expressed hope that the active movement of Belarusian society will lead, sooner or later,  to Lukashenko's resignation as president.

There are some important issues at the moment: how long the public will be able to sustain the protests and whether and at what point Alexander Lukashenko will be abandoned by the Belarusian bureaucracy.

Sprūds said that the support of the Belarusian bureaucracy for the President of Lukashenko is very important and that he cannot criticize it. Lukashenko recently rewarded 300 Interior Ministry employees with medals for the perfect service. This Lukashenko order was signed a few days after security forces violently suppressed the protests, followed by extensive demonstrations demanding the prosecution of perpetrators who beaten up and detained the protesters.

 

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