INSK, 21 February (BelTA) - Belarus will not let any attempts to rewrite history and take the Victory away from the Soviet people, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a ceremony to present state awards and the banner to the Belarusian Prosecutor's Office on 21 February, BelTA has learned.
The head of state presented the prosecutors with orders, medals and letters of commendation. Prosecutor General Andrei Shved was awarded the Order for Service to the Homeland 3rd degree and Prosecutor of Grodno Vladimir Klishin - the Order of Honor.
The president called today's event a significant and symbolic in the history of the country's Prosecutor's Office. “On the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day, we are presenting state awards and the banner of the Prosecutor's Office to people, who are responsible for ensuring security, law and order in our country,” the Belarusian leader said.
In his words, the Victory Hall of the Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, a symbol of the Belarusian statehood, was especially chosen for the ceremony. “Everything here is a reminder of the price we paid to preserve ourselves as a nation, our right to live on this land and rebuild our state. Being in this temple of mourning for the millions of victims and pride in the generation of victors, I have only one question. Has this experience not taught people anything?” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
“It would seem that the memory of those terrible, relatively recent events is still fresh. After all, witnesses of Nazi atrocities are still among us. This national memory should have cooled down the ardor of individual politicians and figures. But what do we see? The number and scale of challenges and threats are not decreasing. As a result of inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic wars, people continue to die, and they die in masses,” the head of state said.
He stated that modern revanchists provoke new conflicts. “To justify themselves, they are trying hard to rewrite the history and take the Victory away from the Soviet people, and call the heirs of the people-victors, i.e. us, the aggressors,” he added.
“We cannot let it happen,” said the head of state. In his words, the investigation launched by the General Prosecutor's Office into the facts of genocide and the identification of individuals who managed to escape punishment for killing civilians will be completed. “It is a matter of historical justice and our duty to the memory of more than 3 million people who were victims of Nazism,” the president stressed.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, after the investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office the number of people, tortured during the war, will unfortunately increase. Only in 2021 some 300 burial sites were identified in Belarus. “All the results of the conducted work will be presented to the world community (of course, if by that time this world community still exists and wants to learn and hear these facts). They will become a reminder of what modern followers of fascism are trying hard to forget,” the head of state said.
According to him, the Belarusians should remember that it took a lot of time to restore the pre-war population of the country. “Thanks to the incredible efforts of the Belarusian people, our country has gained its unique modern looks,” the president said.
Addressing the participants of the ceremony, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that their perseverance and integrity in protecting the rights of citizens, public and state interests, honesty and patriotism won them considerable prestige. “This year the Prosecutor's Office of Belarus will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Let the banner as a special relic remind us of the sacred duty of every citizen - to serve their Fatherland,” the Belarusian leader said.
The head of state congratulated the attendees on the presentation of state awards and the banner of the Prosecutor's Office, wishing them health and well-being, professional success for the benefit of their native country and, most importantly, a peaceful sky over their heads: “We need to do everything to ensure that our country, which has experienced such sorrow quite recently, remains a peaceful, independent country and that only peaceful people live on our land”.
In turn, Prosecutor General Andrei Shved expressed his gratitude to the president for the high honor the head of state showed by handing over the banner to the Prosecutor's Office: “We pledge to honor and cherish the relic handed over to us as a symbol of the state's trust in the prosecutor's office activities. I assure you that the prosecutor's staff will continue to perform their tasks at the highest level.” On the occasion of the memorable event, Andrei Shved presented Aleksandr Lukashenko with the badge “For Services” and the emblem of the Prosecutor's Office.
