LOGOISK DISTRICT, 22 March (BelTA) – We need to pass on the gene of Belarusianness and resilience to the modern generation of young people, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov told the media on the margins of a ceremony in the Khatyn memorial complex to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the tragedy of the Belarusian village, BelTA learned.
“Such monuments [as Khatyn] are a living testimony of that time. It's like a reminder to those who come to the Belarusian land with a sword. Should you dare to come again you will end up as the previous invaders and the monuments will remind future generations of your vile and dark deeds,” Maksim Ryzhenkov added.
Maksim Ryzhenkov said that a tragedy similar to what happened in Khatyn is part of his family's history. In 1943, the village where many of his relatives lived was burned down. “Only my grandmother and her brother, who had gone to the front before that, survived,” he said. “For me preserving the memory is a matter of inner conviction in the rightness of what we are doing, the rightness of our victory then, our actions today and our victory tomorrow”.
“It's hard for me to explain this. There is something duplicitous about this. On the one hand, the countries are arming themselves. Their doctrines describe Belarus and Russia as the main sources of threats; they seek to create a unified European army, search for €800 billion for the armament program. With all these plans, rabid Russophobia and anti-Belarusianism they come here, honor the victims and lay flowers,” he said.
Maksim Ryzhenkov suggested that in this way these countries, represented by their diplomatic staff, want to show their alleged peacefulness and repentance. “In fact, we see that there is no repentance. This is purely official protocol. The fact they want no cameras, no media only shows that there is not much sincerity in it,” he stated.
Some time ago we tried not to highlight such moments [like the tragedy in Khatyn], the tragic chapters in our history for some international considerations,” the minister noted. “Every year we see that the need to preserve the memory, to ensure its correct interpretation becomes more and more pressing. It is especially important to transfer this knowledge, the stories of the living witnesses of that time to our youth, to our children. So that they could feel this gene of Belarusianness, resilience, survivability and pass it on to the next generations. This is very important.
“Such monuments [as Khatyn] are a living testimony of that time. It's like a reminder to those who come to the Belarusian land with a sword. Should you dare to come again you will end up as the previous invaders and the monuments will remind future generations of your vile and dark deeds,” Maksim Ryzhenkov added.
Maksim Ryzhenkov said that a tragedy similar to what happened in Khatyn is part of his family's history. In 1943, the village where many of his relatives lived was burned down. “Only my grandmother and her brother, who had gone to the front before that, survived,” he said. “For me preserving the memory is a matter of inner conviction in the rightness of what we are doing, the rightness of our victory then, our actions today and our victory tomorrow”.
The minister was also asked to comment on the fact that representatives of a number of EU countries visited the memorial complex on the eve of the Khatyn tragedy virtually incognito. They did not want their visit to be covered in the press.
“It's hard for me to explain this. There is something duplicitous about this. On the one hand, the countries are arming themselves. Their doctrines describe Belarus and Russia as the main sources of threats; they seek to create a unified European army, search for €800 billion for the armament program. With all these plans, rabid Russophobia and anti-Belarusianism they come here, honor the victims and lay flowers,” he said.
Maksim Ryzhenkov suggested that in this way these countries, represented by their diplomatic staff, want to show their alleged peacefulness and repentance. “In fact, we see that there is no repentance. This is purely official protocol. The fact they want no cameras, no media only shows that there is not much sincerity in it,” he stated.
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