President of Belarus: Those Who Stumble Should Not Be Fired, But Given a Chance

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko commented on cases of dismissal for participation in the 2020 unrest during a conversation with journalists on January 26 in Minsk, as reported by BELTA.

A representative of one of the foreign media asked whether there is indeed such a problem with human rights violations in Belarus, such as the dismissal of workers for participating in the 2020 unrest.

The President pointed out that participation in unrest is nothing more than a violation of the rights of other citizens, as well as the norms of the Criminal Code. At the same time, Alexander Lukashenko acknowledged that some excesses were made by those dealing with the consequences of the 2020 unrest. "Such information reaches me. I then give everyone the command, saying: 'Guys, you threw him out on the street, fired him. But they are not bad specialists, they understood, realized. Why are you insisting on dismissal?'" the President said.

"We have turned this situation around," noted Alexander Lukashenko, adding that this issue is not acute in society now. "This is no longer the case in Belarus. But it was: when someone stumbled somewhere - fire him. You don't need to fire him. You need to give the person a chance. I'm not saying to forgive. He needs to be given a chance," added the head of state. According to him, most of those who stumbled in 2020 realized their wrongdoing and repented.

"On this issue, the topic is closed. We will not run after everyone and punish them, but we see them - those who violated the Criminal Code," concluded the President.