Belarus leader dubs democracy 'nauseating'

Belarus’ authoritarian leader claims his country is “so democratic, it’s just nauseating”, adding to concerns that a crackdown on political opponents after disputed elections and an underground bombing that killed 13 people is set to intensify.

President Alexander Lukashenko used a parliamentary address to also accuse unspecified foreign forces of trying to destabilise the ex-Soviet nation through political and economic pressure, a familiar tactic critics say he uses to deflect responsibility for an economy in freefall.

Mr Lukashenko was referring to the European Union and the United States, which have slapped Belarus with travel and economic sanctions after December’s presidential elections harshly criticised by international observers.

A massive government crackdown on the opposition, a spiralling currency crisis and an underground bombing last week have fomented a sense of rising panic and disorder in this former Soviet nation of 10 million people, which is often dubbed the last dictatorship in Europe.

Defending his controversial re-election vehemently, Mr Lukashenko told politicians that “before the elections we became so democratic that it made you and me giddy. There was so much democracy, it’s just nauseating”.

Later he appeared to backtrack a little, suggesting that he wasn’t against democracy per se.

“We aren’t against democracy ... Belarus needs constructive democracy, not destructive,” he said.

Mr Lukashenko has run the country for 17 years with no tolerance for challengers or dissent.