Isolated Belarus President sworn in for fourth term

President Alexander Lukashenko was sworn in for a fourth term yesterday, in a lavish ceremony boycotted by the West over a crackdown on the Belarus opposition after his disputed election victory.

Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 16 years and was once described by Washington as Europe’s last dictator, has imprisoned some of the opposition’s most prominent figures in a ruthless crackdown after the polls.

In his oath taking at the immense Palace of the Republic in Minsk, Mr Lukashenko pledged to serve the Belarussian people and also “respect and preserve the rights and freedom of people and citizens.”

But in a stern speech attended by thousands in the vast main hall, he then warned that the “time for revolutions and revolts was over” and vowed to protect the country from threats at home and abroad.

He praised Belarussians in the election for “not ceding to political provocations and the hysteria of politicians and venal journalists”.

Ahead of the highly choreographed ceremony, Mr Lukashenko was driven through the eerily deserted streets of Minsk in a convoy headed by a fleet of nine motorcycles.

He was accompanied into the Palace of the Republic by his extra-marital son Kolya, wearing a suit but dwarfed by his giant father. The boy, believed to be aged around six, has become a constant presence at Mr Lukashenko’s side.

Tens of thousands of people had protested on election night in Minsk on December 19 against what they perceived as unfair elections that gave the ice hockey-mad strongman a landslide victory.

More than 600 people were detained. Belarus is still holding four of the candidates who stood against Mr Lukashenko and some of the country’s leading liberal journalists and activists.

No ambassadors from the 27-nation European Union were present at the ceremony, choosing instead to quit the country for the day, an EU spokeswoman said.

“The European Union head of delegation as well as ambassadors from EU member states will not participate at the inauguration,” said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.