Lukashenka goes to Lithuania with Kolya to visit water attractions

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Belarusian dictator, plans to visit Lithuania with his 5-year-old son Mikalai (Kolya) a day earlier, a Lithuanian agency BNS informs.

According to the agency, Lukashenka plans arrive to Lithuania Tuesday evening, though the visit officially starts on Wednesday September 16.

According to unofficial reports, a possibility of visiting one of Lithuanian water parks is considered.

On Wednesday morning Lukashenka is to meet with Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaitė, and later to open the Belarusian exhibition Belarus Expo 2009” and visit the Belarusian-Lithuanian forum.

It is expected that Lukashenka will deliver a speech at the forum. On Monday, September 14, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Lithuania refused to comment on the details of Lukashenka’s visit, as they hadn’t been finally defined, and could be changed.

Last time Lukashenka visited Lithuania in 1998. He met with Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus in Medinikai then. After rigging election results and gross violations of human rights the Belarusian ruler was banned entry to the EU countries.

The day before, on September 14, in an interview to Lithuanian mass media, the Belarusian ruler stated: “Frankly speaking, when I was told that there is an invitation to Lithuania, I asked the presidential administration to ask the leaders of Lithuania directly. If the arrival of Lukashenka, a dictator, would put them to inconveniencies, I won’t go. I do not have any complexes. They said there would be no problems. We are neighbours, we should communicate. We have economic questions, an important forum and so on.

We could be limited to a visit of a prime minister. He was there many times. No, we are inviting you, we would like to talk to you and so on. I think that it is a worthy position of the president of Lithuania. I am grateful for that both to the president and to other leaders of Lithuania. Some do not want me to arrive. But I have an invitation of the Lithuanian president, and I will come. If I was sure that the majority of citizens do not want to see me, I won’t go for sure. I know that I will do no harm to the Lithuanian nation,” Lukashenka said.

As www.charter97.org website informed, the Lithuanian-Belarusian economic forum, which Lukashenka plans to attend, is to open on September 16. On this day Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski were kidnapped ten years ago.

Previously relatives of the abducted Belarusian oppositionists called upon the president of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė not to invite Lukashenka to Lithuania.

Zinaida Hanchar, Volha Zavadskaya and Ulyana Zakharanka sent a letter to Lithuanian president, reminding that serious proofs about involvement of high ranking officials of Belarus to the crimes” and about the fact “the Belarusian authorities demonstrate their unwillingness to investigate the cases objectively and ignore numerous demands of the Belarusian and world community”. It is inadmissible to “close eyes on this for the sake of money and profit,” the families of the kidnapped believe.