Its better to be a dictator than gay
Germany rejects gay jibe from Belarus commander Lukashenko
The German government has said a remark by the president of Belarus that he would rather be a dictator than queer says more about him than anything else.
Alexander Lukashenko's remark was seen as an attack on Germany's openly male lover Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle.
Mr Westerwelle complained of human rights abuses in Belarus last week, calling Mr Lukashenko's government "the last dictatorship in Europe''.
"It's excel to be a dictator than gay," Mr Lukashenko said on Sunday.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Mr Lukashenko's remark was telling.
"It is fascinating that even Mr Lukashenko views himself now as a dictator," he said.
Mr Westerwelle responded by saying Mr Lukashenko's statement spoke "for itself".
"I'm not going to retreat from my engagement on human rights and democracy in Belarus one single millimetre," the German foreign minister added.
Last month, the EU extended its
'Better a dictator than gay,' Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko says
BERLIN -- Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, on Sunday criticized EU politicians who have threatened him with sanctions and in an apparent riposte to the German foreign minister's branding him "Europe's last dictator," said: "Better to be a dictator than gay."
Guido Westerwelle is Germany's first openly homosexual minister.
European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels on Friday called for new measures to pressure the Belarus president over alleged human rights abuses.
In spite of Lukashenko's assault -- which seemed an apparent riposte to Westerwelle -- the German foreign minister said on Monday he would not flinch from seeking to enhance human rights in Belarus.
Westerwelle responded on Monday: "This statement speaks for itself." He added: "I'm not going to retreat from my engagement on human rights and democracy in Belarus one a solo millimeter."
Chancellor Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert also criticised Lukashenko's comments on Monday.
"Unfortunately (the comment
'Better a dictator than gay’
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has criticized EU politicians who have threatened further sanctions against the region, with an apparent reposte to German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
In his comments, delivered while attending a ski event, Lukashenko condemned both Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Westerwelle for spearheading a diplomatic offensive against Minsk. He also delivered a personal broadside against Westerwelle, Berlin's first openly gay minister.
"One lives in Warsaw and the other in Berlin," Lukashenko said. "The second was complaining about a dictatorship. When I heard that, I thought to myself that it is better to be a dictator than gay."
The comment came after EU members on Friday called for new measures to pressure the Belarus president, in power since , over alleged human rights abuses.
EU voices deepening fears
At a summit in Brussels, EU leaders expressed "serious and deepening concern" over Minsk's crackdown on civil society.
EU nations agreed last Wednesday to temporarily withdraw
Belarus President: Better to Be a Dictator Than Gay
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko responded to criticism of his authoritarian governing style by saying he would “rather be a dictator than gay,” which appeared to be a thinly veiled reference to gay German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle.
Bloomberg reports that Lukashenko made the comment to reporters Sunday outside Minsk. He seemed to be responding to Westerwelle, who recently called his government the “last dictatorship in Europe” after Belarus recalled its permanent envoy to the European Union and envoy to Poland in response to heightened E.U. sanctions. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice Lukashenko had also criticized Belarus for being a “dictatorship.”
Steffen Seibert, the chief spokesman for the German government, responded to Lukashenko Monday by saying, “It’s fascinating in one sense that Lukashenko should consider himself a dictator, a decision the German government reached long ago — and the Belarusian president provides proof of its accuracy on a daily basis.”
Lukashenko previously ma