Belarus should continue to be a presidential republic, but the power within the country should be balanced, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting with a working group on finalizing the draft constitutional amendments on 21 October, BelTA has learned.
The head of state noted that the self-exiled opposition is trying to convince everyone that the new Constitution is being drafted to meet the needs of the incumbent president. Aleksandr Lukashenko debunked this myth: according to him, it is the existing Constitution that secures a strong presidential power. “To be frank, the existing Constitution accommodates the president the most. According to the opposition's criteria, this is the best Constitution any president can dream of. This Constitution is really very tough. Many experts say that we have an authoritarian government due to this Constitution; this is true. We explained why we drafted this Constitution and why it caters for the president. Thus, any other Constitution will be ‘weaker' or, as they say, ‘more democratic' than the current one,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
According to the head of state, the time has come to redistribute the powers between the authorities at the constitutional level. Their duties and areas of responsibility should be split, but the country should still remain a presidential republic, Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced. According to him, this idea is upheld by the overwhelming majority of Belarusians, as they support a strong presidential power.
“I strongly believe that Belarus should be a presidential republic if we want to retain the country. And the Belarusian People's Congress is being involved not because someone in attendance or the incumbent president is craving to lead it, but in order to maintain the system of checks and balances, as lawyers say. This is one of the fundamental things – checks and balances; all laws and legislative acts, and above all the fundamental law, rely on checks and balances” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president stressed that the new Constitution should be drafted taking into account constructive opinions of Belarusian citizens disregarding what self-exiled opposition says. “We will hear them, whether we want it or not, but if we respond to every this and that coming from people living in Poland or Lithuania and working off the money received from Americans, Germans and others, we will have no time to work and take care of our own people, and we will not be able to address any issue, be it COVID or the sanctions,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
According to the head of state, the task of the working group is to carry on the work started by the Constitutional Commission. “Naturally, the working group consists of experienced statesmen and executives, people from all walks of life. It is they who should shape the new Constitution. The main thing in the work of this group is to prevent the loss of balance in the system of government. It is important to avoid the overlapping of functions and authorities of key government agencies and to ensure the coherence of their work,” the Belarusian president said.
A reminder, at the expanded meeting of the Constitutional Commission on 28 September the head of state determined who and how would finalize the draft Constitution prior to the referendum. Upon his instruction, a working group was set up to finalize the draft amendments to the country's fundamental law.
“I will meet with them often to answer some questions. And before submitting that draft Constitution to the nationwide discussion, we will meet again in the same composition. The commission will not be disbanded, it will not disappear. It will keep working. After a nationwide discussion a group of lawyers will review each line and write down the document in legal language before putting it to the referendum. That's what the lawyers will do. And this group should consist not only of lawyers. This group should include specialists, including economists and executives,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
According to the president, the referendum on the new Constitution of Belarus will take place no later than February 2022.
Answer:
Dear Shivendu Paul and Metali Listeners' Club,
dthank you for your comment! We'll send you some of our souvenirs ASAP.
Stay tuned and 73,
RBI
Hallo Radio Belarus,
ja der Dieter Leupold ist jetzt auch hier im Gästebuch vertreten... Super, bald sind wir alle zusammen hier im "Belarus Hörerclub", Dieter könnte 1.Vorsitzender werden und Jana und Elena Ehrernmitglieder, Helmut Matt Schriftführer, Alfred Albrecht Beisitzer und ich mache Hausmeister:-) Lutz Winkler wie fit bist Du bereits wieder, für Dich finden wir auch eine nette Aufgabe:-) Beste Grüße und ein schönes Wochenende.
Dietmar
Answer:
Lieber Dietmar,
das stimmt, für alle finden wir im Hörerklub eine Aufgabe!:)
Liebe Grüße und einen guten Start in die Woche!
I recently learned my surname is not Polish, but Belarusian. I heard you on shortwave in the past and am so happy to listen online in English. We hear nothing about Belarus here in the US so I am so glad to learn about your country. Keep on broadcasting in English. I also joined the Hoererklub on Facebook as I can understand German. If you have information or a station pennant, I will very much appreciate it.
Sheryl Paszkiewicz, 1015 Green St, Manitowoc WI 54220 USA
Answer:
Dear Sheryl, thank you very much for listening to us! We'll send you some of our souvenirs as soon as we can. By the way, if you're interested, you can participate in our "The Old Country's Loving Call" project and send a greeting to Belarus. You can find more detailed information at http://www.radiobelarus.by/en/content/hukaje_eng
Also, in case you like sports, here's the link to an international competition of ours "My Greetings to 2nd European Games" http://www.radiobelarus.by/en/content/games_eng
73 from the entire staff of RBI! Прывiтанне з Малой Радiзмы :)
Hello from Birmingham United Kingdom!
My name is Michael.
I really enjoyed listening to your program on the Hotbird satellite 13e. I very much love listening to your news and current affairs.
Ask you to send me a small gifts. I hope you guys are all good.
Lots of love from UK
Especially enjoying learning about Belarus. History and culture
Michael Rogers
Flat 2 463 City road Birmingham
B17 8LG
United Kingdom
Answer:
Michael,
thank you very much for listening to us! We're glad that you enjoy our programs. We'll send you some of our souvenirs as soon as we can. Best regards and stay tuned!
Hello. I am a new listener to your English service. I listen on the Radio 1 News app. I enjoyed listening to the news. Do you have any information on shortwave broadcasts you can send me?
Thank you,
Joe Cosimo
23 Ivy Ln, Dupont, PA 18641 U.S.A.
Answer:
Dear Joe, thank you for listening to Radio Belarus International! We're glad that you enjoyed our news. RBI broadcasts on shortwave only in German on 6005 and 3985 kHz. News and programs in English are available via our website and satellites. We'll also send you a postcard and a small souvenir as soon as we can. 73!
Hello,
My name is Younes Lazazi, I am from Algeria.
I am very happy that radio Belarus has started broadcasting in Arabic.
I would like to receive stickers and printed matter of the station and the Arabic and french services if possible.
My address:
Monsieur Younes Lazazi 14 rue Maza Boualem El-Harrach 16009 Alger Algérie
Thank you.
Answer:
Dear Younes Lazazi,
we're happy that you like our boradcasts. We'll send you some of our printed materials via mail in the nearest future. 73!
Dear English Service Radio Belarus,
Greetings to all staff and listeners of English Service of Radio Belarus. We listen your webcast program. Your program quality is very nice. Your website is colorful & documented. We liked your programs, News, and Current Affairs Program. We are interested about Culture, life style of Belarusian people, historical places, Tourist attraction and destination of Belarus.
Please send some program schedule, sticker, view card, Promotional items of Radio Belarus for our club members and students.
We are waiting for your reply.
With best wishes,
SHIVENDU PAUL
President
Metali Listeners' Club
India
Answer:
Dear Shivendu Paul,
thank you very much for listening to us! Your club is among our most dedicated listeners. We will send you some of our promotional products as soon as possible. 73!
Hello!
Did the arabic programmes start? I don't see them on your Internetcast schedule page. Thanks!
Answer:
Hello! The Arabic programmes have been on air since October, every Monday. You can see the schedule and listen to them on our Arabic page http://radiobelarus.by/ar
FM transmitters and frequencies:
Rakitnitsa - 106.2 MHz
Hrodna - 95.7 MHz
Svislach - 104.4 MHz
Heraniony - 99.9 MHz
Braslau - 106.6 MHz
Miadzel - 102.0 MHz
Satellite broadcasting:
see satellite parameters here
