Challenged on human rights abuses — including attacks on protesters and a bomb threat that forced a plane to land, allowing Belarusian authorities to arrest dissidents on board — Lukashenko tried to deflect anything negative.
Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko tries to turn the tables in combative interviewEXCLUSIVE by Zahra Ullah and Matthew Chance, CNNMinsk, Belarus Alexander Lukashenko must be familiar by now with the sound of people who disagree with him. The Belarusian capital of Minsk was thronged with massive protests before and after the disputed presidential election in August 2020, which was marred by fraud. Lukashenko says he won anyway, but the US, EU and Belarusian opposition challenge that.
But when CNN sat down for a rare interview with the man responsible for a brutal crackdown over the last year, he was defiant, alternately denying facts or claiming things were worse in the United States or Britain.Demonstrators carried pre-Soviet white and red Belarus flags last October as they demanded Lukashenko resign after months of mass protests.
Hear stories from the border of Europe's last dictatorship 05:59"This is madness," he said of Polish government claims that Belarus was dumping migrants on their border. "Are you taking me for a madman?" he said when asked if his country was transporting migrants to the edge of the European Union as revenge for EU sanctions and the EU sheltering dissidents. Read MoreBut the tension between Belarus and the EU is real.
Belarusian opposition leader recounts Biden meeting 10:45Lukashenko paints a rosy picture of life in Belarus, saying families are safe to go out.On the streets of Minsk, the people we met did seem afraid of something though. Most did not stop to speak to CNN and quickly hurried away. One young man who did talk gave a blunt assessment of why people were scared."This is Belarus," he said."The police can arrest you and me.
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