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Lukashenka threatens to dismiss prime minister, National Bank head

Alyaksandr Lukashenka on Friday threatened to dismiss Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich and National Bank head Pyotr Prakapovich if they failed to “stabilize” the situation in the country's exchange and consumer markets.

Speaking at a government conference the Belarusian leader pointed out that the government had expected the recent devaluation of the rubel to 5,000 per US dollar to force down the “speculative” demand for foreign currency, but he did not see this happen. “If there is not the desired trend, you, Mikhail Uladzimiravich [Myasnikovich], and you, Pyotr Pyatrovich [Prakapovich], will be the first” to be dismissed, Mr. Lukashenka said.

“Any rise in prices should from today be suppressed with all severity,” he stressed, noting that prices might be adjusted upward only by permission of the prime minister and the heads of the regional governments. He pointed out that there currently were no goods whose prices would have to be raised.

He gave the government a week to ensure that the full range of consumer goods is available in retail stores.

He directed that those sabotaging the government’s decisions and those trying to capitalize on the country’s economic problems should be jailed.

Mr. Lukashenka warned that the government has enough powers to solve problems itself and should not rely on the president. “You shouldn’t make a crisis manager of me,” he said.

“You should remember one thing: They won’t let us live a quiet life,” Mr. Lukashenka said. “We were aware of that as far back as the middle of last year. They warned us that they would make it hot for us in April or May. And they did so. They started with rumors and generated a stir. It was still nice of them not to start a war, as was the case in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Greece and so on.”

“So it is time for you to wake up and attend to your business if you want to live in a calm country,” Mr. Lukashenka said.

According to him, he knows who tries to fuel this stir in an attempt to buy up the best of what Belarus has.

He warned that he would not allow sweeping privatization, and that nothing would be sold dirt cheap. “This [property] belongs to neither me nor you, but to the people,” he said. “They expect us to start selling assets tomorrow to stabilize the situation in the country, but this won’t happen,” he stressed, adding that no one would buy anything, including the Belaruskali potash giant, the MAZ and BelAZ truck companies and Belarusian Steel Works, without his consent. //BelaPAN