Neither she nor the writer appealed to the president for help, she says.
Lukashenka made a number of interesting remarks at a meeting with winners of the Teacher of the Year contest on October 3, Nasha Niva writes. He advised to include literary works in the school programme regardless of political views of their authors. “Let's see what literary works we study. We removed real prominent writers [from the programme] who have things to teach us, especially in senior forms, and included those who should not be there to please some movements and groups. Vasil Bykau was not a supporter of mine, but he has the works that must be studied at school. It has always been my position,” Lukashenka said.
“Some said to me that Bykau was a traitor, because he left the country... It is his right, so he left. But who did he appeal to in a difficult situation? To the president. He came to the president, and his wife came to ask to help them with therapy. He died, and they again came to the state, because they understood the worth of people,” Lukashenka added.
Did the Bykau family appeal to the head of state? How did Lukashenka help them? A journalist talked to Iryna Mikhailauna, Bykau's widow, about it. She says Lukashenka's statement came as a surprise for her.
“Maybe someone asked Lukashenka for help on our behalf, but I have no information about it. The president sent his condolences when Bykau died. That's all,” she said.
Lukashenka earlier said similar things about Henadz Karpenka. He claimed his family asked him to help with the funeral, because they didn't even have shoes to put on the deceased. Karpenka's widow denies this statement.
