Read on Twitter
1/ Live tweeting Lukashenko's speech from a rally he organized. (There are two rallies happening today: pro-Lukashenko and anti-Lukashenko.)
"Dear friends! Thank you all for coming! We have lived, together, through a quarter of a rough century, and you have never let me down."
"Dear friends! Thank you all for coming! We have lived, together, through a quarter of a rough century, and you have never let me down."
2/ "Thank you, my compatriots from Vitebsk and Mogilev. Thank you, residents of the Brest region, where I spent my most difficult years. Thank you, Grodno; there we began our campaign in the '90s. Thank you, Minsk, for putting up with me — who came from the countryside."
3/ "Dear friends, I have gathered you not to protect me — although this as well. I have gathered you so that you could protect your country, your families, your wives, sisters, and children."
4/ "I swore to help you and to prevent [protests on the squares] in Belarusians' lives. I am not a supporter of [protesting at the] streets and squares. But it's not my fault I had to call you here."
5/ "When in the mid-90s at rallies and squares we destroyed what was given by God — the great empire [USSR]. What did you want then? You asked for a piece of bread, for a $20 salary. You asked for a tractor and a combine to save villages, to have milk, meat, and bread"
6/ "Did you ask for honor to be returned to officers and soldiers who were afraid to go outside? Did you ask me to lead the people away from the abyss? We did it! We have built a sovereign independent state. Time chose us, and we did it."
7/ "The NATO troops' [tank] tracks are clanking at our gates. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and our kindred Ukraine are ordering us to hold new elections. If we go for it, we will die as a state and a nation."
8/ "We are offered to be governed by NATO soldiers, by the black-skinned, yellow-beaked [inexperienced], flaxen-haired. They want to [make us into bumpkins] and govern us with a whip — can't you see that? It'll happen without me — I'll never settle for breaking our country down."
9/ "I have children and grandchildren. I want them to live on their own land, in their own state — poorly, very poorly, well, better, but thinking with their own heads."
10/ "Yes, our policy was tough, but we have established this in the mid-90s when we adopted the new constitution. You asked me to put things in order. I did. You asked me to defeat corruption. You asked me to clear the roads of bandits. I did it."
11/ "You passed me [??], a young man who didn't know where to get the money. We gave more. Yes, we are not rich, but not $20 either, and we live as we can. But on our own land!"
12/ "[Think with your own heads], teachers, doctors, "creatives". We went our own way, we didn't stop a single factory — and people thank us for that."
13/ "The elections were held. 80% could not be falsified. We are offered new elections — they want to weaken us with those. Who's going to go to this new election? Let's go to the election. Who's going to work then?"
14/ "They are talking about brutality in the streets? Did I start it? I had to stop them. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be here. If we hold a new election, the country will be turned upside down."
15/ "We built a beautiful country. Who do you want to give it to? Even when I am dead, I will not allow it."
16/ "Today there will be threats against families of soldiers, civil servants. I am warning you — you are playing with fire. Soldiers, civil servants, peasants, doctors can protect themselves and their families. And they will."
17/ "I am asking you — don't touch the teachers, they have to prepare for school. Don't touch the doctors. Don't touch state media journalists. God forbid something happens — you will answer for that."
18/ "Do not bring shame to our country — peaceful, prosperous and calm, envied all over the world. We have no friends or supporters, everyone wants us on our knees. We won't."
19/ "I'm a realist. They won't give us a quiet life, they'll crawl out like rats from their holes. They're ruled by foreigners, puppeteers, they want the western border of Belarus to be near Minsk, like in '39. It's not going to happen. We'll all stand like the Brest Fortress."
20/ "We won't give up the country, Belarusians, think with your head before it's too late, otherwise tomorrow others will think for us."
21/ "They're yelling at me to go away. I am not here because I'm clinging to power. I gave my youth and my best years serving my homeland. Of course — presidents come and go. [... ???] And what are we waiting for? To let criminals and bandits out? They want power."
22/ "We've been through this before. Someone hasn't seen it, someone's forgotten. I'll remind you: we can't go through this again. Stop! Don't kill your own future! For them, we are a prime cut. They'll eat us and won't choke."
23/ "It's time for you to decide. What is with you, Belarusians? For centuries you wanted to be [respected]. If you ruin the first president, it will be the beginning of the end! You'll be on your knees like in Ukraine."
24/ "I warned you: the election will be interesting, and after the election it will be even more interesting. [...] All the rubbish crawled out: 'Lukashenko is sick, dead somewhere.' But I am alive, and will live. And remember, I' have never betrayed you and never will."
