By Veniamin Mikheev
Alexander Lukashenko commented on the awards that had recently been presented to senior officials of Belarusian law enforcement. The President emphasised that the awards were bestowed upon them for their work in the past year. “The Defence Ministry conducted a large-scale exercise, and, of course, this is of great merit to Defence Minister, Yuri Zhadobin. Dozens of garrisons have risen from the ashes and ruins, and have undergone reconstruction. Our army is solid and has determined its prospects, this is also to his credit,” noted the Head of State.
The Chairman of the State Security Committee, Valery Vakulchik was awarded for his considerable personal contribution to the establishment of the Investigation Committee.
Commenting on the award for the Interior Minister, the Head of State noted that he got a good impression of the work of the police in 2013. “The police worked well. This is not merely praise. You know, I do not really like to praise people. However, I need to do them justice,” said the President.
Interior Minister, Igor Shunevich, reported to the President about the development prospects of the Interior Ministry, and suggested ways for further improvement and reform.
Speaking about the Interior Ministry’s achievements in 2013, the Minister noted that the general crime rate had dropped. Last year, the number of reported crimes was down by nearly 12,000. The number of repeat crimes and crimes committed by juveniles has also been reduced. According to Mr. Shunevich, preventive work has brought these positive results.
Moreover, the measures passed by the government helped reduce deaths and injuries sustained during road accidents. The number of speed infringement cases dropped by 26 percent, leading to the drop in deaths and injuries.
After hearing the report by the Interior Minister, the Head of State set several short term tasks, and gave instructions to further improve the performance of the Interior Ministry.