MINSK, March 16 (RIA Novosti) - Senior Belarusian officials said Thursday they had evidence of an American-backed plot to overthrow the country's current regime during Sunday's presidential elections, and said any attempts at disruption would be classified as terrorism.
Security service head Stepan Sukhorenko showed a press conference in the capital, Minsk, a video of an interview with a man he said was one of those involved in the plot. The man said he had been at a training camp in Georgia at which training was provided by "four Arabs [and] officers of the former Soviet army".
The man also said a colonel from the Georgian security services and American instructors had conducted examinations, and that the Americans had told them to bomb four polling stations at schools in Minsk during voting Sunday.
"The Americans told us to organize four explosions at schools. The place and time [of the attacks] were to be told [to us] later. Concrete locations were not indicated," the man said.
Sukhorenko said all attempts at disruption would be seen as terrorism: "Anyone who takes to the streets and tries to destabilize the situation will be classified under the [Criminal Code] article of terrorism."
The country's general prosecutor said Thursday that opposition candidates were trying to organize mass demonstrations during Sunday's vote.
Pyotr Miklashevich said the authorities "have grounds to decisively intercept measures during the organization stage."
Sukhorenko also showed video footage he said was of Georgian nationals confessing that they were to deliver money and "everything necessary" to create disturbances on March 19. He said it was possible other attacks were being organized.
"We know maybe only a part of what was being prepared," he said.
