Belarus: “We will submit a new song for Eurovision 2021” says President Lukashenko!
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has said that Belarus may submit a new entry to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, after the previous one was rejected by the EBU because of its political lyrics.
With lyrics such as “I will teach you if you cross the line”, the song provoked strong reactions from opposition figures and sparked calls from the European Parliament and fans of the competition to exclude Belarus from the popular competition.
The organizers of Eurovision 2021 and the EBU threatened Belarus with a ban on Thursday if it did not submit a modified version of the song or a new song.
Admittedly, what was said was that allowing Belarus to participate in this song would legitimize Lukashenko’s violent crackdown on the mass unrest that struck the country after the August elections.
For Lukashenko, all of the above was another example of an attempt by outside forces to overthrow his 27-year rule. The lifelong president, who has traditional Russian backing, accuses the West of sparking protests to overthrow him.
“They are starting to put pressure on us on all fronts. “Even at Eurovision, I see it,” Lukashenko said in his first public comment on the issue.
“We will submit another song,” he said, adding: “You see that all this is being politicized.”
For the record, Belarus’ public television station’s original choice for Eurovision 2021 was the song “Ya nauchu tebya” with the band Galasy ZMesta.
