Its better to be a dictator than gay
BERLIN, March 4 (Reuters) - Belarussia's Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday criticised EU politicians who have threatened him with further sanctions and in an apparent reposte to the German Foreign Minister's branding him "Europe's last dictator", said: "Better to be a dictator than gay."
Guido Westerwelle is Germany's first openly same-sex attracted minister.
European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels on Friday called for new measures to pressure the Belarus President, in power since 1994, over alleged human rights abuses.
Lukashenko said Belarus would grant a strong reaction to any sanctions, according to local news agency Belta.
"This is absolute hysteria," Belta reported him as saying. "And as you can see, at the forefront there are two types of politicians ... one lives in Warsaw, another in Berlin."
"Whoever was shouting about dictatorship there ... when I heard that, I thought: it's improved to be a dictator than gay."
European leaders said any new sanctions should target those in Belarus who are responsible for human rights violations and repression of civil world, as well as people supporting Lukashenko's government or benefitting from it.
Poland, Belarus's direct
Germany rejects gay jibe from Belarus leader Lukashenko
The German government has said a remark by the president of Belarus that he would rather be a dictator than gay says more about him than anything else.
Alexander Lukashenko's remark was seen as an attack on Germany's openly gay Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle.
Mr Westerwelle complained of human rights abuses in Belarus last week, calling Mr Lukashenko's government "the last dictatorship in Europe''.
"It's better to be a dictator than gay," Mr Lukashenko said on Sunday.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Mr Lukashenko's remark was telling.
"It is curious that even Mr Lukashenko views himself now as a dictator," he said.
Mr Westerwelle responded by saying Mr Lukashenko's statement spoke "for itself".
"I'm not going to retreat from my engagement on human rights and democracy in Belarus one single millimetre," the German foreign minister added.
Last month, the EU extended its blacklist of Belarusian officials, adding 21 names to the list, which already included more than 16
'Better a dictator than gay’
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has criticized EU politicians who have threatened further sanctions against the territory, with an apparent reposte to German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
In his comments, delivered while attending a ski event, Lukashenko condemned both Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Westerwelle for spearheading a diplomatic offensive against Minsk. He also delivered a personal broadside against Westerwelle, Berlin's first openly queer minister.
"One lives in Warsaw and the other in Berlin," Lukashenko said. "The second was complaining about a dictatorship. When I heard that, I thought to myself that it is better to be a dictator than gay."
The comment came after EU members on Friday called for recent measures to pressure the Belarus president, in might since 1994, over alleged human rights abuses.
EU voices deepening fears
At a summit in Brussels, EU leaders expressed "serious and deepening concern" over Minsk's crackdown on civil society.
EU nations agreed last Wednesday to temporarily withdraw their ambassadors to the former Soviet republic after the Belarus ambassador was withdrawn from
'Better a dictator than gay,' Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko says
BERLIN -- Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, on Sunday criticized EU politicians who have threatened him with sanctions and in an apparent riposte to the German foreign minister's branding him "Europe's last dictator," said: "Better to be a dictator than gay."
Guido Westerwelle is Germany's first openly lgbtq+ minister.
European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels on Friday called for new measures to pressure the Belarus president over alleged human rights abuses.
In spite of Lukashenko's assault -- which seemed an apparent riposte to Westerwelle -- the German foreign minister said on Monday he would not flinch from seeking to refine human rights in Belarus.
Westerwelle responded on Monday: "This statement speaks for itself." He added: "I'm not going to retreat from my engagement on human rights and democracy in Belarus one a available millimeter."
Chancellor Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert also criticised Lukashenko's comments on Monday.
"Unfortunately (the comment) very clearly shows the position that the Belorussian president takes in relation to basic rights,"
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