Belarusian rejects domestic-violence bill

MINSK, Belarus — The authoritarian president of Belarus has rejected a prospective law against domestic violence as Western “nonsense,” saying that physical punishment could be “useful” in raising children.

President Alexander Lukashenko said a draft bill criminalizing domestic violence needs more work. He told journalists Friday that he is personally against the physical punishment of children, but added that a “good belting could sometimes be useful for a kid.”

“It’s just nonsense taken from the West,” he said. “We will proceed exclusively from our own interests, our Belarusian Slavic traditions, and our life experience.”

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for 24 years, maintaining rigid Soviet-style control over the economy and showing little tolerance for dissent or independent media.

The Belarusian leader has often lashed out against the West, especially for its approval of same-sex marriages. He said Friday that “they will soon have no families left, with men marrying other men.”

Current Belarusian law doesn’t contain specific regulations against domestic violence. Lukashenko did not mention violence against women in his remarks, but the bill would cover all forms of domestic violence.

The prospective bill was drafted by the Interior Ministry and Lukashenko’s own administration, but Lukashenko said other organizations should have a say in creating the law.