Coordination Council of Belarusian opposition dismisses Lukashenko's threats as not serious
MINSK. Aug 19 (Interfax) - The Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition will continue its activity despite the threats coming from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Council spokesman Anton Rodnenkov told Interfax on Wednesday.
"These threats are more verbal in nature. This is an attempt to intimidate society. We're not taking them seriously and are continuing to work as normal. The first meeting planned for today is going to be held," Rodnenkov said.
The Council does not see any reason to prosecute its members, he said.
"We can see that the state, the authorities are ready to act brutally and in violation of the law. We don't rule out that such measures (detentions of Council members) may also be taken. All Council members are aware of that. However, we don't see any reason for prosecution. The Coordination Council is a non-political, civic body. This isn't some entity seeking to take power," Rodnenkov said.
He also noted that the Council is not a political party.
"This body is seeking to achieve public consensus. There is no way out of this crisis without dialogue and public consensus," Rodnenkov said.
As reported earlier, Lukashenko described the Coordination Council as "the black hundred" and promised to "run it off with a broom."
