Belarus: Lukashenko rejects mediation proposals

(ANSA) - MINSK, AUGUST 15 - The Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has rejected the mediation offers received these days from some neighboring countries in order to resolve the serious crisis that opened after the presidential elections which he was reconfirmed amid strong suspicions of fraud.
    "We will not sell the country to anyone," Lukashenko said at a meeting at the defense ministry according to the state news agency Belta. "We do not need any foreign government or intermediaries," he added. Proposals for mediation in the Belarusian republic have been advanced, in particular, by Poland and two Baltic republics: Latvia and Lithuania. The proposed plan envisaged the creation of a "national council" to resolve the ongoing political crisis. "Without wishing to offend the leaders of these republics - said Lukashenko - I would like to tell them to think about their own business". In an interview with his Russian counterpart and ally Vladimir Putin, the intention to "strengthen" the union of Russia and Belarus was confirmed.
    Meanwhile, the protests do not subside: even today some thousands of people marched in Minsk to contest the re-election of Lukashenko. Demonstrators paid tribute near the Pushkinskaya metro station to the demonstrator killed last Monday in clashes with police.
   In the place where Alexander Taraikovski, 34 years old, died, they placed flowers shouting "Go away" addressed to the president and showing images with the marks of the beatings suffered during the repression and arrests. The funeral of the killed protester was held today. A Freedom March, promoted by opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, is scheduled for tomorrow in Minsk. (HANDLE).