Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday blamed the national border guard service over an incident where hundreds of teddy bears rained on the post-Soviet republic.
A light plane crossed the country’s airspace from neighboring Lithuania on July 4, evading the country's air defenses and parachuting the bears with slogans in support of human rights.
On Tuesday, Lukashenko sacked the country’s air defense and border guards service chiefs. The two got off lightly, he suggested, adding that in Soviet days they would have ended up behind prison bars.
“The border guards are mainly to blame for this because a border guard unit detected the aircraft but no action was taken to punish the intruders,” he said.
He urged the new service command to prioritize border protection.
“Protecting the state borders is the border guards’ main task. International activity, other matters come second,” he said.
The stunt was carried out by two Swedes who said they wanted to show support for Belarusian rights activists and embarrass the country's top brass.
