Belarusian dictator calls OSCE a “truncheon”

On December 2, ALyaksandr Lukashenka made a speech at the summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The head of Belarus criticized the OSCE and showed the way to improve the organization, “Salidarnasts” writes.

According to Interfax-Zapad news agency, Lukashenka said the OSCE should set up universal election standards. The head of Belarus thinks that now “OSCE sometimes resembles a truncheon in someone’s hands during the pre-election period of this or that country.”

“Unfortunately in Belarus there are no election standards which are continually cited by OSCE representatives and officials,” Lukashenka said.

He also touched upon the issue on freedom of travelling. The head of state reminded that the OSCE member states had undertaken obligations on facilitating personal contacts and freedom of movement.

“The today’s situation is far worse than that 11 years ago. Bureaucratized, and sometimes abasing human dignity, procedures of receiving visas, high visa cost is a big hindrance to free movement and contacts between the citizens of our countries,” Lukashenka stated . “We are an organization for security and cooperation. But how can people cooperate under these conditions?”

In Lukashenka’s opinion, the OSCE needs serious modernization:

“We are convinced in the necessity to adopt the Charter and make OSCE a full-fledged international organization. We think further steps in achieving functional and geographic balance in the work of the organization are crucial.”

It’s worth noting that the head of Belarus is not the only person to have complaints at the OSCE. The problems, however, is that castigating someone Lukashenka ignores his own vices. In particular, whatever election standards were taken by the OSCE, the today’s simulation of the electoral process in Belarus would fail to comply with them.