MOSCOW, 8 October (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko presented, in a sincere and heartfelt way, the joint address to the peoples of the CIS countries and the internaitonal community on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 at the CIS summit in Moscow. This was one of the items on the agenda of the expanded-format meeting, BelTA learned.
The head of state thanked for the right to present this address. “Our country has earned this right as it was the first to take the blow of the Wehrmacht machine, the first to delay their victorious march across Europe. This right was given to us by the heroes who stood to the death in the Brest Fortress and on the outskirts of all Belarusian cities, blocking the way to Moscow. Representatives of almost 70 nationalities fought shoulder to shoulder with the Belarusians. Everyone knew they were up agianst the absolute evil,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
He emphasized that today the names of many people are immortalized in the names of avenues and streets of Belarusian cities, in monuments and memorials. Among them are Marshal Georgy Zhukov; Heroes of the Soviet Union - Najafgulu Rafiyev (Azerbaijani), Gazaros Avakyan (Armenian), Sundutkali Iskaliyev (Kazakh), Dzhumash Asanaliev (Kyrgyz), Domullo Azizov (Tajik), Oraz Annaev (Turkmen), Gulyam Yakubov (Uzbek) and many others.
“We honor our heroes. We also remember the pain, grief, and suffering millions of our compatriots had to endure. The bell of Khatyn tolls every 30 seconds to remind us that over 600 Belarusian villages were burned down together with their residents: women, children and the elderly,” the head of state said. “No matter how many years have passed, we still hear the echo of the mute cry for help of the exhausted residents of besieged Leningrad, the cries of millions of Soviet mothers and children, whose sons, daughters and fathers did not return from the battlefields.”
The number of victims of that war is horrifying, the Belarusian leader said. But the exact number is still unknown. For example, mass graves of hundreds and thousands of those tortured and shot to death are still found on the territory of Belarus.
“Meanwhile, some countries of liberated Europe honor SS legionnaires. Neo-Nazis openly march in the streets, demolish and desecrate monuments to the liberators,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “The young people joining these wild celebrations are brought up in the spirit of national superiority and revanchism, have no idea about the course of history. They do not know that their ancestors (and those were the people of the Baltic states, Poles, Belgians and even Germans) fought alongside the Soviet people. They have been made to forget that they owe the fact of their birth to the Soviet soldiers who paid with their lives for peace on their land, for the freedom of their countries, and for the future of their peoples.”
The president emphasized that it is possible to steal away the memory, but not the truth: "Without the heroism of the Soviet people, some states and people would not exist today. It is these states and people are trying very hard to discredit the feat of the Soviet people and to take away our Great Victory, which unites us. We know why. The historical truth that our peoples carry on is an obstacle to the West’s long-term geopolitical plans that have no place for other strong powers."
The Belarusian leader highlighted that in response to these actions, provisions on protecting the historical truth and the memory of the feat of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War were introduced into the Constitution of Belarus. Belarus adopted the law “On preventing the rehabilitation of Nazism” and the law “On the genocide of the Belarusian people”.
"Fortunately, we are absolutely united in understanding the importance of protecting the feat of our peoples and our common memory. We do so for the sake of peace. We adopt the address for the sake of peace. It fully meets the interests not only of the CIS, but also of the entire humanity, which finds itself closer than ever to the brink of a new catastrophe," the Belarusian leader said.
He is convinced that the adoption of the address is a significant political step, which will show a truthful assessment of the role of the peoples of the CIS countries in the victory over fascism, respect for the common historical past and attitude to the joint future.
He emphasized that today the names of many people are immortalized in the names of avenues and streets of Belarusian cities, in monuments and memorials. Among them are Marshal Georgy Zhukov; Heroes of the Soviet Union - Najafgulu Rafiyev (Azerbaijani), Gazaros Avakyan (Armenian), Sundutkali Iskaliyev (Kazakh), Dzhumash Asanaliev (Kyrgyz), Domullo Azizov (Tajik), Oraz Annaev (Turkmen), Gulyam Yakubov (Uzbek) and many others.
“We honor our heroes. We also remember the pain, grief, and suffering millions of our compatriots had to endure. The bell of Khatyn tolls every 30 seconds to remind us that over 600 Belarusian villages were burned down together with their residents: women, children and the elderly,” the head of state said. “No matter how many years have passed, we still hear the echo of the mute cry for help of the exhausted residents of besieged Leningrad, the cries of millions of Soviet mothers and children, whose sons, daughters and fathers did not return from the battlefields.”
The number of victims of that war is horrifying, the Belarusian leader said. But the exact number is still unknown. For example, mass graves of hundreds and thousands of those tortured and shot to death are still found on the territory of Belarus.
“Meanwhile, some countries of liberated Europe honor SS legionnaires. Neo-Nazis openly march in the streets, demolish and desecrate monuments to the liberators,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “The young people joining these wild celebrations are brought up in the spirit of national superiority and revanchism, have no idea about the course of history. They do not know that their ancestors (and those were the people of the Baltic states, Poles, Belgians and even Germans) fought alongside the Soviet people. They have been made to forget that they owe the fact of their birth to the Soviet soldiers who paid with their lives for peace on their land, for the freedom of their countries, and for the future of their peoples.”
The president emphasized that it is possible to steal away the memory, but not the truth: "Without the heroism of the Soviet people, some states and people would not exist today. It is these states and people are trying very hard to discredit the feat of the Soviet people and to take away our Great Victory, which unites us. We know why. The historical truth that our peoples carry on is an obstacle to the West’s long-term geopolitical plans that have no place for other strong powers."
The Belarusian leader highlighted that in response to these actions, provisions on protecting the historical truth and the memory of the feat of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War were introduced into the Constitution of Belarus. Belarus adopted the law “On preventing the rehabilitation of Nazism” and the law “On the genocide of the Belarusian people”.
"Fortunately, we are absolutely united in understanding the importance of protecting the feat of our peoples and our common memory. We do so for the sake of peace. We adopt the address for the sake of peace. It fully meets the interests not only of the CIS, but also of the entire humanity, which finds itself closer than ever to the brink of a new catastrophe," the Belarusian leader said.
He is convinced that the adoption of the address is a significant political step, which will show a truthful assessment of the role of the peoples of the CIS countries in the victory over fascism, respect for the common historical past and attitude to the joint future.
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