‘I’m not a saint’

Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, said yesterday he would be willing to hand over power after a referendum, in an apparent bid to pacify mass protests and strikes that pose the biggest challenge to his 26 years in office.

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He made the offer, which he insisted would not be delivered on while he was under pressure from protesters, after exiled opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was willing to lead the country.

In a sign of Lukashenko's growing vulnerability, he faced heckling and chants of "step down" during a speech to workers at one of the large state-run industrial plants that are the pride of his Soviet-style economic model and core support base.

Russia has told Lukashenko it is ready to provide military help to Belarus in the event of an external threat. Lukashenko faces the threat of European Union sanctions after a bloody crackdown on protests following what demonstrators say was his rigged re-election victory last week. He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80% of the vote.

Lukashenko told workers there would be no new presidential election, something the opposition wants, until he was killed.

He also offered to change the constitution, an apparent concession that seems unlikely to satisfy protesters.

"We'll put the changes to a referendum, and I'll hand over my constitutional powers," Lukashenko said, in remarks quoted by the official Belta news agency.

"Yes, I'm not a saint. You know my harsh side. I'm not eternal. But if you drag down the first president you'll drag down neighbouring countries."

Speaking in a video address from Lithuania, opposition politician Tsikhanouskaya urged security forces to switch sides, saying they would be forgiven if they did so now.

"The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent Presidential election," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.