Lukashenko on Internet shutdown in August 2020: we will block it off altogether if such situation repeats
During today’s Open Microphone meeting with young people, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko commented on the events of 2020 and explained how information technologies were related to them
Answering the question from a student of the BSU Journalism Faculty about possible Internet outages during the Presidential election (as it was in August 2020 during the protests), the Head of State stressed, “If it happens again, we will block it off altogether. To be honest, that was done almost every time with my permission. When you have two problems, you start to decide which of them is more important. I saw far. Our country hung in the balance then. If we failed to retain hold of the country, then…”
The Belarusian leader recalled how the protesters had been demanding some changes, while no one indicated in detail what changes were needed and how to achieve them. Actually, ‘a pretty thesis’ was promoted at first among people, and later fakes began to be spread about allegedly killed, beaten and broken citizens – and many more.
“You were accepting those words easily, though there were no beating or killing. I understood where it all was coming from: via the Internet. Routes [of protests] were directed primarily from Poland, with the indication of directions where to go and how to act. Well, they deserve gratitude for outlining the routes, for guiding where to go and how to turn the country around," Aleksandr Lukashenko commented.
The Head of State stressed that, at that time, he understood perfectly well what that could lead to, “We would have had a war worse than in Ukraine.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasised that his main task as President is to protect the country, “That is why I came out with an assault rifle in Minsk, together with children. Those were my powers, there was no escape: it was necessary to calm them [protesters]. I knew that if I failed to stand ground together with some right people, then NATO troops come here. They were ready for that.”
According to the Head of State, it was about the fate of Belarus, “Do you think I will wait patiently and pray so that you do not send a message to someone, if the country’s further existence is questionable? Well, you don't understand this at some point, but what if to look farther? I actually must understand this, so I weigh it up and think that – in order to save the country – the Internet may be blocked for a while, so that [western] special services do not manage our society. That's what it was done for… I chose the best from the worst. That's why such decisions were made.”
Answering a clarifying question whether the Internet may be blocked in the country during the 2025 Presidential election, the Belarusian leader said, “Anything can happen. I always have the worst in the view. True, the situation is different today: we have understood a lot, we are conducting sociological research (among young people and students as well). I always repeat that there is no need in a hurry. Assess the situation.”
