MINSK - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would soon consider the applications for pardon, filed by politicians convicted for joining the events on Dec. 19, 2010.
"I will shortly consider the applications for pardon filed. Just shortly. No one will reproach me for not delivering on my promises or pledges," Lukashenko said at a meeting on foreign-policy issues.
"We will make decisions on individual applicants, who have finally understood how harmful their position and policy with regards to their own state was," the Belarusian president said.
"There has been much talk about political prisoners lately. Our Criminal Code has no political counts," he said, adding that "even the opposition media say there is no use putting pressure on Lukashenko."
"They are right. But what they also say – that Lukashenko will do the opposite if pressured – is not right. What rubbish! I never make decisions under the impact of personal ambitions. I act the way the constitution and law obliges me to act, not the other way round," Lukashenko said.
"But when one asks for something, one should be more polite. This is true, especially when one asks the president to do something. No use walking around with a stick here and banging on the window," he said.
On the jailed opposition politicians, he said he has been reproached for not having freed them. "There is only one reason: the moment I mentioned that several months ago, everyone started yelling. But I warned all: pardon first of all involves a plea for pardon," Lukashenko said.
"After that, pleas gushed in. Yes, they did file pleas, but, allegedly, under someone’s pressure," he said. Government executives were instructed to check "whether they wrote their pleas under pressure or on their own," he said. "I was given evidence, including videos, where they are saying honestly and openly: We did this on our own," the president said.
"But one or two refused to write. Alright. It was their choice. They will continue doing their time," Lukashenko said.
