MINSK, 28 September (BelTA) - The CSTO is initiating amendments to the laws of its member states to counter the attempts to heroize Nazism, Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic Sergei Rachkov told the media before the panel discussion "Belarus and Russia: Expanding joint efforts to counter the attempts to heroize Nazism" as part of the 7th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia, BelTA has learned.
"We are planning to discuss with Russian colleagues common actions and measures in international organizations to counter the heroization of Nazism, legislative initiatives and opportunities. Unfortunately, in the year of the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, we are forced to note that some states, politicians, and historians are trying to rewrite the history of World War II. This is unacceptable,” Sergei Rachkov said.
The law “On amendments to the Law on Countering Extremism” came into force on 1 February 2020. It defines "Nazism" and "Nazi symbols." There are also amendments to the Criminal Code to criminalize the rehabilitation of Nazism and promotion of Nazi symbols. Belarus is the only CSTO country where these issues are defined at the legislative level. "We will propose that the CSTO countries should include the same amendments to their legislation," Sergei Rachkov said.
The draft recommendations suggest formulating a legal definition "Nazism" in the legislation of the CSTO member states and including such offences as "rehabilitation of Nazism" and "propaganda of Nazi symbols" in their codes.
“Our countries will not let anyone rewrite the history, hush up the facts that led to the death of millions of our citizens,” Sergei Rachkov stressed.
According to Chairman of the Committee of International Affairs of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev, the duty of the current generation is to remind the world of the inadmissibility of using hate speech to accommodate some immediate geopolitical interests of certain countries. “I am confident that this is the special mission of Belarus and Russia. 75 years after destroying the Nazis we have to once again draw historical parallels and point out to our western partners the mistakes which once led to a catastrophe. The strengthening of neo-Nazi tendencies and the spread of aggressive anti-Soviet historical concepts in neighboring countries not only offends our common memory but is also a threat to national security,” he said.
“Today we are going to discuss concrete steps of Belarus and Russia to preserve the role that the Soviet Union played in World War II in the memory of the peoples of Europe. We hope that new ideas and proposals will be voiced today,” Konstantin Kosachev said.
The 7th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia will be held via videoconferencing on 28 and 29 September. The theme of the forum is Historical Heritage of the Great Victory as a Basis for the Development of Social, Economic and Spiritual Ties between the Peoples of Belarus and Russia. The program includes five sections in several themed areas: parliamentary cooperation, joint economic projects, the feat of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, counteraction to the glorification of Nazism, increasing the activity of the rural youth. There will also be a joint session of the Business Councils of Belarus and Russia and a high-level expert session on Education as the Basis of Historical Memory and Further Integration Development of the Union State of Belarus and Russia.
Issues of regional cooperation, implementation of documents adopted at the previous forums, and the development of sci-tech cooperation between the two countries will be considered at the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Inter-regional Cooperation of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia.
A plenary session will be held as a central event of the forum to take stock of the work of the sections, discuss key issues and adopt the final document.
