MINSK, 3 July (BelTA) - Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko urged young people to preserve the independent Belarus and its achievements as he spoke at a ceremony to mark Independence Day at the Mound of Glory memorial complex on 3 July, BelTA has learned.
"We, the modern generation, remember that the heroes of the Great Patriotic War gave us life and we try to live it being worthy of their memory, the memory of those who created this monument. Those who defended the traditions lost in the 1990s and restored the memorial complex giving it a modern look," the Belarusian leader said.
The confrontation has not ended since the Great Patriotic War, but has acquired, unfortunately, modern forms, the president said. In this regard, he addressed the young generation, students of history departments, cadets of the Military Academy, the Academy of the Internal Affairs Ministry, young civil servants and representatives of public organizations: "You are the future of our country. This is not a banal rhetoric. Almost 100% of people here are the dedicated patriots of our Motherland. I want you to preserve the country. You will take charge of our country and I want you to preserve what we have created for a quarter of a century," the president said.
He stressed that the current, modern generation has already left their mark in history. Their main achievement is the creation of the first ever sovereign Belarusian state. "We, having received a piece of land of the Soviet empire, created a sovereign and independent state - for the first time in the thousand-year history of Belarus. This is the achievement of our generation that defended the Victory they gave us. Now it's up to you - those who are standing here. Because you are dedicated people. You will not give away our country, our land, because you are our children, children of our generation."
Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed hope that this historic transition from one generation to another will be peaceful. "This is the main problem and the task of modern history - the transition to a new generation. I do not want it to be painful, as it usually happens. We must do everything for that," he said.
The president stressed the importance of preventing attempts to rewrite the heroic history of Belarus, the symbol of which is the Mound of Glory. "If we do not defend it today, tomorrow this mound will be leveled with the ground, as a symbol of the Great Victory that some hate. With it Belarus' freedom and independence will be destroyed too,” Aleksandr Lukashenko warned.
