The Belarusian ruler should start with himself if he wants to tackle corruption.
Anatol Liabedzka, the head of the United Civil Party (UCP), spoke to charter97.org about the ruler's statement that regional officials divided Belarus into own principalities.
"The corruption system mentioned by Aliaksnadr Lukashenka does really exist. It is not limited to groupings on the regional or corporative level. The entire country is involved in the corruption system. The main architect of the system is Lukashenka. He should address the accusations he made during yesterday's meeting to himself," the politician said.
He adds the Belarusian dictator cannot say that the opposition hinders him to fight against corruption or that the international community creates obstacles.
"It means that the Belarusian economic model is favourable for corruption. The current political system also fosters corruption amid lack of control from the parliament, public and law-enforcement bodies. We only have the decisions taken personally by Lukashenka. The Belarusian ruler created a deadlock system. All discussions have no sense. They are just a performance and a publicity stunt," Anatol Liabedzka says.
The UCP leader says that anti-corruption campaigns sometimes hit some unlucky officials, but don't reduce possibilities for corruption.
"Everyone knows that Lukashenka came to power on the wave of anti-corruption fight. He doesn't want to hand over his laurels to someone else. He needs at least a part of society to regard him as an honest man adhering to priciples. It used to work well. Severe criticism and occasional prison terms for corrupted officials gave Lukashenka strong support during the first five or six of his rule. But today more and more people understand that corruption grows from the presidential administration," the politician is confident.
Lukashenka came down on the law-enforcement bodied at yesterday's meeting to discuss the effectiveness of the fight against corruption and economic crimes.
