BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
04/04/2006
Missing strongman of Belarus is fine, say aides
By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow
Aides to President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus tried yesterday to end speculation over the disappearance of the man branded as Europe's last dictator. He was neither ill nor sulking, they said.
The president has hardly appeared in public since his re-election last month, leaving the country mystified. Opposition activists and some diplomats have suggested that he could be sulking after the European Union and America imposed travel sanctions on him following allegations that the election was rigged. Others suggested that he had suffered a stroke.
Gennady Nevysglas, his chief of staff, said the president had played a weekend game of ice hockey - a sport in which his opponents are said to be told to play badly. "He beat everybody by a huge score, so I would suggest that the state of his health is excellent," he said.
Officials then announced that the president's inauguration would be held on Saturday. It had been due last week but was postponed because the president was too busy to attend, a government website said.
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