Belarusian leader vows to defeat foreign-backed ‘’rebellion’’

Belarus’ authoritarian leader on Thursday denounced six months of protests against his rule as a foreign-directed “rebellion” and vowed to resist the pressure.

Speaking to 2,700 participants of the All-Belarus People’s Assembly, President Alexander Lukashenko charged that “very powerful forces” abroad were behind the protests. Lukashenko didn’t elaborate, but over the past several months he has repeatedly accused the West of fomenting the protests.

“We must stand up to them no matter what, and this year will be decisive,” he said. Lukashenko convened the gathering to discuss plans for the country’s development, but the opposition has denounced it as an attempt to shore up his rule and soothe public anger with vague promises of reforms. Mass protests have gripped the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million people since official results from the Aug. 9 presidential election gave Lukashenko a landslide victory. The main opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and her supporters have dismissed the result as rigged, and some poll workers also have described manipulations of the vote. Authorities have cracked down hard on the largely peaceful demonstrations, the biggest of which attracted up to 200,000 people.