MINSK, 30 August (BelTA) – Russia and Latin America countries assist with the investigation into the genocide of the Belarusian people. Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved mentioned it during a ceremony to rebury over 1,000 residents of Belarus, who were shot during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, BelTA has learned.
Chairman of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee Aleksandr Turchin also took part in the reburial ceremony. Representatives of three religions of Belarus performed last rites for the dead. A commemorative stone was unveiled after that and those present laid flowers at the stone.
Andrei Shved said that over 400 previously unknown or little studied sites of mass slaughter of civilians and Soviet prisoners of war were examined in 2021 alone. “We've requested legal aid from 19 countries where executioners and punishers, who eliminated people in the territory of our country, still live. Serious and scrupulous work proceeds in archives. Prosecutors have organized exhibitions all over the country using materials of the criminal case [into the Belarusian people's genocide] to highlight the Belarusian people's genocide,” the official said.
In his opinion, it is very important to convey the truth about atrocities committed by the Nazi in Belarus to the young people: “We can defend Belarus as long as we remember it and know what fascism is and what sorrows this phenomenon brings to people. We will not allow a distortion of history.”
The official noted that today's event which had been organized in association with the Minsk Oblast administration and the Logoisk District administration was one of the first mourning events. “We don't simply examine crime sites. We try to find out names of the victims and their butchers, pay tribute to their memory, and immortalize such places. Most importantly, grass should not grow over this path. We want school students and young people to keep coming here,” Andrei Shved said.
The countries where essentially pro-fascist individuals are in positions of power have denied Belarus' requests for assistance with investigating the Belarusian people's genocide. Andrei Shved said: “Those are Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and other countries. Countries, which understand what fascism is, actively cooperate with us. First of all, I am talking about Russia, which helps us and provides a very large amount of documents. Active correspondence has begun with Latin America countries. We are working to find out the whereabouts of punitive expedition participants and take care of the legal matters with regard to the responsibility of the Nazi who are still alive. In particular, from a Latvian SS battalion. Germany has also started correspondence with us about a number of matters. We are getting a number of documents from there but I should note those are not state foundations or institutions. Those are mainly universities and public associations in Germany, which identify fight against Nazism as their goal. There are a number of neutral countries in active correspondence with us. I think decisions will be made this year with regard to some SS soldiers.”
