Belarus Alters Constitution To Allow Russia To Host Nuclear Weapons In Its Territory
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: February 5, 2022 07:45PM UTC
Last Modified: February 5, 2022 07:45PM UTC
BELARUS - Belarus has quietly altered its constitution to allow the country to host nuclear missiles within its region, which comes into effect on February 27th, 2022 and gives Belarus the ability to legally offer Russia to host its own nuclear missiles within Belarusian territory.
Alexander Lukashenko had stated on Russian state television in December, but the Proposed Changes to its constitution which come into effect this month went largely unnoticed until now.
The approval for the new changes to its constitution led the way for the February 27 2022 Referendum to adopt the new constitution.
Some of the changes to the Belarus constitution guarantees Alexander Lukashenko power in the country for an indefinite amount of time and gives him immunity from prosecution. It also limits the country's parliament and limits presidential office to two terms, but only applies the restrictions going forward, which means Lukashenko could lead the country until his 81st birthday according to Radio Free Europe.
Belarusian political analyst Valer Karbalevich told the Associated Press that the new changes to its constitution "a hybrid -- both the opportunity to get reelected as president until 2035, and the opportunity to remain in power as a possible leader of the All-Belarus Assembly".
The changes also prohibit any person who temporarily left the country within the last 20 years from holding the presidential office, which, according to Radio Free Europe seems to be targeting the country's opposition members, many of which were forced into exile in order to avoid prosecution.
Opposition members have declared that the move to rewrite of the constitution is a sham power grab attempt to help Lukashenko stay in office for a much longer period of time.
opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who believes she was the rightful winner of last year's election stated "The regime's draft constitution doesn't give Belarusians a real choice. It will let the dictator secure power, control the situation through the artificial All-Belarusian People's Assembly, and avoid prosecution. A new presidential election is the only solution to the crisis".
Lukashenko became the first President of Belarus in 1994, three years after the fall of the Soviet Union which it had been apart of since 1944. Belarus has been running the country with an iron fist for the last 28 years which has increasingly frustrated Belarusians, many of which would like free and fair elections.
The country remains so dependent upon Russia for cheap energy that the country has become increasingly beholden to Moscow, even to the point of announcing that if Russia invades Ukraine or goes to war with the West, Belarus will be fighting alongside Russia.
The United States, European Union and some other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate leader of Belarus and imposed sanctions on the country due to the over 900 political prisoners in the country and suppression of its people , along with 'credible reports' of torture and 'ill-treatment by security forces' according to Radio Free Europe, after Belarusians began protesting after the 2020 elections many claimed was a sham.
After Belarus posted the new changes to its constitution on its government website, it did not formally announce the changes according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Even the the changes announced on the government website were difficult to spot according to IISS. No doubt, the government wanted to prevent any kind of internal conflict if the changes were made widely known to the public.
A new military doctrine between Belarus and Russia, which has not been made available to the public was also instated. The new military doctrine is said to allow greater integration between the militaries of the two countries.
