German Edition Raised Laugh Against Lukashenka's "Formulas" To Fight Coronavirus
- 25.03.2020, 9:34
The dictator's words were equated to Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's fantasies about the "miracle plant".
"A miracle plant is to kill the virus in Turkmenistan. Ruler of Belarus Lukashenka advises to ride a tractor and go to the sauna," - the German edition of Die Tageszeitung writes.
"The time has come during the pandemic for some people who have certain talents and qualities. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Turkmenistan's authoritarian president, is a vivid example. Already his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, who worshipped a strange personality cult, was a master of isolation. (...) Berdymukhamedov is not immune to these paranoid fantasies about isolation and state honours for his subordinates, - journalist Barbara Ertel notes. - According to official data, which, however, cannot be verified, there are no cases of coronavirus infection in Turkmenistan yet".
"But it seems Berdymukhamedov isn't quite sure of his statisticians' reliability either. Numerous checkpoints operate on the approaches to the capital city, Ashgabat. Only residents of the city are allowed in", - the article says.
The president, who used to work as a dentist, also has some good advice for his fellow citizens. "At a government meeting, he recommended burning a local grass called "harmel" "to destroy viruses that can't be seen by the naked eye". Berdimuhamedov probably knows what he is saying, since he is a recognized expert on flora: after all, he wrote a book about plants in Turkmenistan. The Turkmen service of Radio Svaboda reported that civil servants began disinfecting government buildings, schools and cemeteries with the help of the miracle grass", - the publication said.
The ruler of Belarus, Lukashenko, also has a "solid stock of knowledge". "He's a former collective farm director," - the author of the article notes.
"We have survived other viruses. We'll survive this one too," - he said on state television. Belarusians, he said, should now work primarily in rural areas. "There, people work in the fields, tractors, no one talks about viruses. A tractor will cure everyone there. The fields cure everyone," - he said. He gave his ministers another health advice: to sweat a little in the dry sauna. According to Lukashenka, coronavirus dies at 60 degrees Celsius," - Die Tageszeitung reports.