Presidential Guard (Belarus)
Encyclopedia
The Belarus
ian Presidential Guard
or officially the Presidential Security Service (Служба бяспекі президэнта Республіки Беларусь) is a law-enforcement body that was designed to protect the President of Belarus
and other high ranking officials and officers.
However, the United States
State Department
stated that the Presidential Guard is a secret police
force under the control of President
Alexander Lukashenko
. The State Department in 1996 stated the guard was allowed to use force "against the President's political enemies with no judicial or legislative oversight."
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard may refer to:*Evzones, the Greek Presidential Guard, formerly the Royal Guard.*Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard Brigade...
or officially the Presidential Security Service (Служба бяспекі президэнта Республіки Беларусь) is a law-enforcement body that was designed to protect the President of Belarus
President of Belarus
The office of President of Belarus is the head of state of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Soviet. This replaced the office of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet as the head of state...
and other high ranking officials and officers.
However, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
stated that the Presidential Guard is a secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
force under the control of President
President of Belarus
The office of President of Belarus is the head of state of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Soviet. This replaced the office of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet as the head of state...
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
. The State Department in 1996 stated the guard was allowed to use force "against the President's political enemies with no judicial or legislative oversight."