Lukashenko ordered the supply of small arms to patrols
February 21, 2024
Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko ordered the police guard service’s street patrols to be armed with small arms. “At least with pistols. And everyone should know that. And they should walk calmly in the streets,” Lukashenko said in an extended meeting with security forces on Tuesday, February 20.
The goal, he said, is to reduce crime. At the same time, the presence of armed police on the streets will allow citizens “to feel safe at home, at work, on the street, at any time of the day”, added the Belarusian government official.
Lukashenko instructed several departments to monitor the implementation of this order. “I warn the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, the special services, anyone, the prosecutor’s office must be controlled,” he said.
Lukashenko allowed the military to shoot citizens
In early February, it became known that Lukashenko had amended the Charter of the Internal Service of the Belarusian Armed Forces, giving the military the right to use weapons against citizens. Among other things, he ordered the amendment of Article 11 of the Charter. In the event of injury or death of a citizen, the prosecutor’s office, as well as the preliminary investigation body, are immediately notified, but the military is not responsible for the damage caused if the weapon was used “in accordance with the requirements of general military regulations”, says the document.
As Belarusski Gayun notes, earlier the Charter stated that “the use of physical force, special means, weapons, military and special equipment by military personnel in excess of authority entails responsibility established by legislative acts”.
Following the August 2020 presidential elections, Belarusian security forces brutally repressed protests that broke out in the country. The greatest resonance was caused by the murder of Roman Bondarenko, who died after being beaten by security forces, and the death of Alexander Taraikovsky and Gennady Shutov, who were shot during peaceful protests in Minsk and Brest. A criminal case was never opened over Shutov’s death, and soon the deceased himself and his friend Alexander Kordyukov were accused – they were accused of attempted murder of representatives of law enforcement agencies. Shutov was found guilty without punishment, and Kordyukov, who witnessed his friend’s murder, was sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security colony.
Source: DW
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