GRODNO, 2 September (BelTA) – Representatives of veteran organizations of the city of Grodno staged a rally near the Consulate General of Poland in Grodno on 2 September. Young Belarusians were also present during the rally, BelTA has learned.
The people convened near the Polish consulate in order to express their disagreement with foreign interference in Belarus' domestic affairs. They chanted “Hands off Belarus”, “We will not give away Belarus”, “Grodno is a peaceful city”. All of them came to express their public stance.
Irina Golaido, a member of the Oktyabrsky District Veteran Organization of Grodno, turned up for the rally and said: “Belarus is our home. We will decide who and how should manage it. I always compare our country to a large family. It is difficult to imagine what will happen if a stranger tries to dictate his or her rules to a family. The same is true for our state.”
Galina Molchanova shared the opinion. Grodno is her native city. She survived the first days of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 there as well as Nazi occupation and the post-war devastation. “I remember well how difficult life was in the first few years of establishment of our country. Goods were rationed. We used to travel to Lithuania to buy food. We have everything now. And we don't want any foreign interference in our affairs. We don't enforce our rules on anyone because Belarusians are a peaceful nation. All these street protests and rallies are not really our thing. But we just have to protect our country and make everyone, who has designs on it, understand that we will never surrender the Motherland to anyone,” the woman said.
The war veterans Ivan Lagoisky and Vladimir Khodynin as well as Lyudmila Lyganova, a representative of the Leninsky District Veteran Organization of Grodno, made similar remarks. Young people also turned up for the rally. They spoke in favor of calm, peace, and non-interference in Belarus' affairs. “We believe that Belarus is capable of resolving all problems and conflicts on its own. We are a strong, confident, and free nation. We build our own future and the future of the country on our own,” they said.
