"You can steal memory, but it is impossible to steal the truth."

President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, told the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States that "SS veterans are being glorified in some countries of liberated Europe."

SPEECH BY PRESIDENT BELARUS ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO

Mr President, heads of delegations,

Thank you for this opportunity to present to our country the Address of the CIS heads of state on the 80^th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Our country has received this right from history itself, the history of the Soviet republic that was the first to bear the brunt of the Wehrmacht’s attack and to stem its victorious march across Europe. We received this right from the heroes who fought to the bitter end in the Brest Fortress and near all the Belarusian cities, hindering the enemy’s advance towards Moscow.

People of 70 nationalities fought side by side with Belarusians, and every one of them knew that they were fighting against an absolute global evil. The memory of many of them has been immortalised in the names of streets and avenues in Belarusian cities, and in our monuments and memorials. Among them are Marshal of Victory Georgy Zhukov, heroes of the Soviet Union Rafiyev, an Azerbaijani, Avakyan, an Armenian, Iskaliyev, a Kazakh, Asanaliyev, a Kyrgyz, Azizov, a Tajik, Annayev, a Turkmen, Yakubov, an Uzbek, and many others.

We remember our heroes. But we also remember the pain, the grief, and the suffering of millions of our compatriots. The bell of Khatyn reminds us every 30 seconds that over 600 Belarusian villages were burned down together with their women, children and senior citizens.

Years go by, but we still hear the echo of the silent cry for help from the exhausted residents of besieged Leningrad, and the weeping of millions of Soviet mothers and children whose sons, daughters and fathers have not returned from the battlefield.

The number of deaths in that war is horrifying. But it is even more horrifying that this number continues to increase. We continue to find mass graves in Belarus with hundreds and thousands of bodies of those who had been tortured to death and executed. This work is also underway in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth.

Meanwhile, SS veterans are being glorified in some countries of liberated Europe. Neo-Nazis openly march in the streets and tear down or vandalise monuments to the liberator soldiers. The young people who take part in these appalling doings have been raised in the spirit of national superiority and revanchism, and total ignorance of the true course of history. They do not know that their forefathers – the Balts, Poles, Belgians and even Germans – fought side by side with the Soviet people. They have been forced to forget that they exist today thanks to the Soviet soldiers who gave their lives for peace, for freedom of their countries and for the future of their people.

You can steal memory, but it is impossible to steal the truth. The heroism of the Soviet people has preserved the very countries and nations which are doing their utmost now to discredit the heroism of the Soviet people and appropriate the Great Victory that unites us. We understand why this is happening: our nations’ historical righteousness is obstructing the implementation of the West’s long-term geopolitical plans in which there is no place for other strong powers.

In response to these actions, the Constitution of Belarus has been augmented with provisions on the protection of historical truth and the memory of the heroism of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. We have adopted laws precluding the rehabilitation of Nazism and on the genocide of the Belarusian people.

Thankfully, we stand united on the importance of safeguarding the heroism of our nations and our shared memory. We did this in the name of peace. And it is in the name of peace that we are adopting today’s Address. It fully aligns with the interests of not only our Commonwealth but humanity as a whole, which is closer to the brink of catastrophe than ever before.

I am confident that this significant political step will reflect a truthful assessment of our nations’ role in victory over Nazism, demonstrate respect for our shared historical past, and foster a constructive attitude towards our common future.

Thank you.

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