Belarus is experiencing massive pressure, President Alexander Lukashenko said in the State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
"When we analyze the situation of late 2010 – early this year, we can see that somebody is trying to oppress our young sovereign state, which is holding an independent domestic and foreign policy, and to force it to dance to one’s tune," he said.
"Belarus is experiencing massive pressure. First, political threats were made, such as the rejection of the outcome of the latest presidential election campaign, the travel bans and economic sanctions. Then there was panic on the currency and consumer markets caused by the opposition and foreign analysts. After that we had speculations on the latest events in the Oktyabrskaya metro station. In fact, all these events are links of the same chain," he said.
"If anyone tries to keep us down, to bring us down to our knees and to eliminate us, we will resist and fight for our land," he said.
External forces want to have a free hand "for direct interference in international affairs and to dictate their will on the Belarusian people. They want to force us to be like everyone else. We are a burr in the saddle," he said.
External forces want "confusion and a brawl in the Oval Hall [the parliament]," he said.
Lukashenko said he thinks that the main reason for the external pressure is the wish to gain control over Belarusian production assets.
"They want to split and divide [these assets]. They have even imported a special term, privatization," he said.
"These [state] assets are not mine; no one has the right to this property," he said.
