Lukashenka wants to set up investigative committee “with sweeping powers”

On Tuesday during the consultations with Alyaksandr Lukashenka a possibility to create an investigating commission which would be subordinate to him personally.

According to the “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta”, this initiative has been travelling around corridors of power for quite a long time, and its realization could change the existing system of the government control considerably. In case the investigation committee would be created in the country, there would be a new institution with a considerable power resource.

As it has been informed, at the meeting on August 6 Alyaksandr Lukashenka was dissatisfied with the work of the Prosecutor General and corruption control again.

“I must say it sincerely: I am not pleased with the state of work of the Prosecutor’s office in prevention of corruption manifestations. And how could we speak about fight against corruption, when workers of the prosecutor’s offices are culpable of that: they take bribes, lobby interests of commercial structures, abuse their power,” he said at the meeting to discuss the work of the Prosecutor’s Office.

In this connection Lukashenka underlined that liability for corruption should be maximal, nobody should be sympathized. “An official must defend interests of people, and it turns out that he wheedles out last money from a person,” Lukashenka said. He stated that at present the prosecutor’s office is not so effective in its functions of supervision.

In this connection a creation of a single investigation committee in the country was discussed, which would be effective in its supervisory role.

“It is possible that it won’t make the situation worse if we create a powerful investigation committee which would be subject to the president directly, and supervised by the Prosecutor General… if there is a question like this, it shouldn’t be postponed. We should consider it carefully once again, and if innovations needed, we should do everything right now,” Alyaksandr Lukashenka said.

The clarification by Lukashenka “to consider once again” is no coincidence. The initiative to set up the investigation committee subject directly to the president was announced in the corridors of power long ago. The necessity of creation of such an organ has been motivated by fight against corruption.

In December 2004, presenting Pyotr Miklashevich in the capacity of the Prosecutor General, stated that an operative and investigative inspection with sweeping powers would be created in the country, and it would “seriously deal with all levels of the state power including public prosecution officers”.

A representative of the presidential administration who talked to the reporter of the BDG after that meeting in December, noted that the matter concerns in fact creation of an investigation committee subjected directly to Lukashenka. As the source explained to the BDG, there is a number of agencies in the country which have sweeping powers, and namely the State Control Committee, the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Security Committee (KGB), the Interior Affairs Ministry. The aim of the investigation committee it to control the work of these agencies.

The draft law “On Investigation Committee of Belarus” was created by the National Centre for draft laws under the auspices of the president in 2005. It is possible that this draft law was prepared and ready for adopted long ago. The desire of Lukashenka to return to the question of creation of the Investigation Committee which was expressed yesterday, demonstrates that this agency can appear in the country at lat.