MINSK, 4 January (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed decree No.1 on declaring the year 2021 the Year of People's Unity. The decision was made for the sake of consolidating the society, rallying the Belarusian nation on the basis of ideas of the country's sovereignty and independence, the press service of the head of state told BelTA.
In line with the presidential decree the Council of Ministers will work together with the oblast administrations and the Minsk City Executive Committee in order to put together and approve an action plan on organizing the Year of People's Unity. The Council of Ministers will also have to ensure the coordinated work of government agencies and other organizations in the course of carrying out this action plan.
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned the proposal to make 2021 the Year of People's Unity in his New Year address to the nation. In his speech Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that having faced the challenges of the leap year, some citizens want the Belarus the way it had been one year before. He said: “Of course, I am glad that you have appreciated our achievements, but we will not return to the past. We do not have time to go back and to tread this path once again. We will definitely create the Belarus of the future, and it will be better than it is now. For this purpose we need to say goodbye to the year 2020 and to remember its lessons.”
The president said: “All of us, who see the world differently, should realize that our common value is our land in the center of Europe. This is what we have. And in order to preserve this land for our children, let's turn this page and start writing a new chapter of independent Belarus together. Let's make 2021 the year of people's unity. Let's live by our wits and create our legacy with our own hands. We are a smart, tolerant and forward-looking nation. We can cherish, value and love like no one else! And if we want to be a success, we will be!”
