Stanislau Shushkevich searched on Belarusian–Ukrainian border

The first head of independent Belarus was returning from Kyiv, where he had meetings with well-known political figures.

Stanislau Shushkevich, the former chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus and leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada, was searched by Belarusian customs officers on January 20.

“They examined everything: my toiletry bag, books, papers, counted every banknote in my purse. For example, I have a special method of folding trousers without creases. The customs officers were glad to find a carton – they decided I had hidden something there. A giant report was made after the search. However, they didn’t find anything illegal on me,” the politician told in an interview to charter97.org.

Answering a question about possible reasons for the search, Stanislau Shushkevich said:

“By all appearances, they were looking for papers. They probably thought I had some papers for the opposition. The officers were very polity, apologized for everything. It was obvious it wasn’t their initiative, they were just fulfilling someone’s order,” the former head of the Belarusian Supreme Council said.

Stanislau Shushkevich paid a working visit to Kyiv: he had meetings with members of Verkhovna Rada and representatives of the Ukrainian President’s Administration.

We remind that Stanislau Shushkevich has recently marked his 75th birthday. The first head of independent Belarus received congratulations from US ex-president Bill Clinton, former president of Poland Lech Walesa, and other politicians.