BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04 Nov 2005

Lukashenko blames Sweden, Germany

MINSK, Belarus, Nov. 3 : The president of Belarus says that Sweden and Germany were his models when he assumed power and can be held responsible for his mistakes.

"If we are doing something wrong we are not to blame, but rather you, because we have learnt from you," President Alexander Lukashenko told the Swedish ambassador as he received his credentials, Interfax news agency reported.

Lukashenko, like President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, is banned from entering European Union countries because of his authoritarian policies and disregard of human rights.

He told the ambassador that as a "young president" -- he was elected for the first time in 1994 at the age of 40 -- he looked to Sweden for its social policies. He used Germany as a model for technological advances.

Source:

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051103-024249-1288r

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