Lukashenko arrested his favorite Russophobe who betrayed him
Belarusian law enforcement officers detained today former journalist of the ONT TV channel Dmitry Semchenko.
This was reported by the nationalist publication Nasha Niva, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
They came to Semchenko’s home and took him to the police department, telling his wife that they would check whether Dmitry participated in unauthorized actions.
Semchenko was known not only for leading the presidential pool, making obsequious, as is customary in Belarus, reports about Lukashenko’s trips, but also for the desperate Russophobia that has recently been mainstream on state television. He incited hatred towards Russia and even allowed himself boorish attacks against the then Russian prime minister, addressing him on air on a first-name basis and mocking the fact that Medvedev could not visit the “Ukrainian city of Odessa.”
Literally before the elections, Semchenko starred in a propaganda film in which he sang Lukashenko’s praises.
“We write the most pressing issues, and they reach the president. He is not afraid to answer any question. It is very interesting for me to observe when journalists from some websites and radio approach the president. They come with such enthusiasm: now we will kill him. They start asking provocative questions and go out, go out,” the propagandist said with delight.
“The President is among us, and he does not present himself any differently. He is the same as everyone else. Such demonstrative unity and trust,” said Dmitry.
“I want to thank the president (and this is sincere) for protecting the independence of our country in such difficult times, for keeping us on the map. In 10-30 years, someone young will talk about the role of Lukashenko, the fact that he saved our country, this will be the card that will beat all the others,” Semchenko said pathetically.
And suddenly, in early August, Semchenko announced that he was leaving television, publishing an angry post on the Internet that he could no longer lie and hush up the regime’s cruelty towards protesters. He did not dare to tell Lukashenko about this directly, taking advantage of his position as a court journalist.
“When I saw how the Belarusian people were being destroyed, I realized that I could never remain silent about it. Otherwise I'll be a living corpse. My Belarus and the people who live here are the highest value for me,” the former propagandist wrote.
Semchenko's departure became a valuable element of opposition propaganda. A campaign of demonstrative dismissals from state TV was already underway, but this was mainly done by the hosts of non-political programs. Semchenko’s quick switching from one pathos wave to the opposite makes one suspect that he might have been paid.
Later, he actively sold his well-known face in the country at various opposition pickets.
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