Lukashenka’s “favourite” position

Belarus wouldn’t crawl to the European Union, Alyaksandr Lukashenka told in an interview to the Italian newspaper La Stampa. The thought is interesting, but one thing gets attention: we have already heard something like this.

Moreover, this thought seems to have been expressed several times. A search engine gives 30624 results (!) to the query “Lukashenka crawl”, newspaper “Salidarnast” writes.

“But we are not going to bow and crawl. It is not the situation we rushed to the European Union shaking all over,” Lukashenka told the Italian newspaper on November 25, 2009.

Let’s move further. June 2009. Lukashenka’s statement on his unwillingness to take part in the session of the CSTO Council on collective security in Moscow on June 14, spread by the press service of the Belarusian ruler:

“But if Belarus’ closest CSTO ally is trying – being well aware of what is happening – to destroy this foundation and virtually put the Belarusians on their knees – how is it possible to speak about strengthening the collective security of the entire Organisation is this situation?”

Here are April statements of the head of state he made to the government regarding the milk conflict with Russia during his working trip to the Homel region:

“We must stop crawling on our knees from one Russian office to another. If they don't want to allow us into their markets, we must look for other vectors of export. Life is making us struggle for access to other markets.”

The symptom seems to be clear, especially taking into account Lukashenka’s remark in late December 2008:

“I also want to publicly dispel the various insinuations that have sounded of late on the lines that Belarus is practically crawling on its knees to the Kremlin to ask for favours.”

In June 2008, during the meeting with Belarusian students on the place of student campus construction, Lukashenka spoke about the same uncomfortable position:

“But if we continue to stumble over energy resources, kneel to you know who, that is a sense of independence and sovereignty.”

Alyaksandr Lukashenka mentioned “crawling“ in his statements in 2008, 2007 and in earlier years:

“We must be ready to take oil and bring it to Belarus even if we have to pay more in emergency situations, but we will never crawl.” (April 4, 2007, during a working trip to the Brest region).

“The country would knelt long ago if it hadn’t been for your heroic deeds.” (September 2007, speaking to the agricultural workers).

These are his early statements:

“You should prompt, recommend, explain something to us, but do not try to make kneel, do not enforce our will on me...” (An interview of Lukashenka to The Wall Street Journal, March 2002).

There’s an impression that the whole world has the only thought: how to make the blue-eyed Belarus crawl on its knees? Washington, Moscow, Brussels, or Tegucigalpa seems not to have other troubles.

As people say, the tongue ever turns to the aching toot...