Posted:
02.04.2024 16:30:00
Cohesion. Security. Confidence
Popular sovereignty is about security and defence
The President’s visit to the area in Oshmyany District, where measures aimed at checking the combat readiness of formations and military units are taking place, was not only of an inspection nature. The Head of State made a number of crucial statements that were at first glance related to the military-political and international situation. However, they also reflect the current trends in the internal development of our country.
The President of Belarus,
Aleksandr Lukashenko,
“The Military Doctrine and the National Security Concept are strategic issues on Belarusian People’s Congress agenda. Nothing could be more important now. This is the main thing. The first meeting primarily deals with personnel issues. The chairperson will be elected and the presidium of the Belarusian People’s Congress will be determined. Maybe we will have time and will be able to make appointments to the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and the Central Election Commission. All this has already been brought to the level of the Belarusian People’s Congress from the President. The judicial branch of power is being transferred from the President to the Belarusian People’s Congress. That is, we are moving in a democratic direction.”
During the inspection of the measures on checking
the combat readiness of formations and military units
in Oshmyany District, on March 26th, 2024
Aleksandr Lukashenko,
“The Military Doctrine and the National Security Concept are strategic issues on Belarusian People’s Congress agenda. Nothing could be more important now. This is the main thing. The first meeting primarily deals with personnel issues. The chairperson will be elected and the presidium of the Belarusian People’s Congress will be determined. Maybe we will have time and will be able to make appointments to the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and the Central Election Commission. All this has already been brought to the level of the Belarusian People’s Congress from the President. The judicial branch of power is being transferred from the President to the Belarusian People’s Congress. That is, we are moving in a democratic direction.”
During the inspection of the measures on checking
the combat readiness of formations and military units
in Oshmyany District, on March 26th, 2024
A unique response model
All commentators, even those with an unfriendly attitude to us, paid attention to President’s confidence when he was speaking about the situation in Belarus. The President’s confidence is based on a deep knowledge and understanding of the processes taking place in our society. Belarus has built a unique model of responding to various challenges, which includes legal, security, political and economic measures.The constitutional institutionalisation of the Belarusian People’s Congress became one of the key decisions to improve the entire state-public mechanism. Currently, the nomination of delegates of this supreme body of popular sovereignty is underway. The President focused on the work of the Belarusian People’s Congress during his conversation with journalists in the framework of the visit to a military unit in Oshmyany District. The Head of State listed the questions that should be included in the agenda of the first meeting of the Belarusian People’s Congress. As is known, it will take place at the end of April. The representative forum will open with a report by the Head of State on the situation in the country and the world.
First of all, organisational and personnel issues need to be resolved at the meeting — to elect the chairperson and the presidium of the Belarusian People’s Congress, to determine the composition of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, the Central Election Commission, as may be required, as well as to approve the tasks for the country’s economic development for the five-year period.
There is another topic that is attributed by the Basic Law to the competence of the Belarusian People’s Congress. It is of paramount importance at the moment. Its discussion and the subsequent adoption of the appropriate decisions will certainly cause an international buzz. This refers to the National Security Concept and the Military Doctrine of the Republic of Belarus. That is, the delegates of the Belarusian People’s Congress will have to clearly outline the military and political course of our country taking into consideration the current extremely challenging conditions, when the world is on the verge of a full-scale global war.
Democracy in action
The Belarusian political process is based on a solid legal framework, which has been significantly updated in recent years. Let us turn directly to the text of the Constitution.Paragraph 29 of Article 84 states that the President ‘shall impose martial law on the territory of the Republic of Belarus in the event of a military threat or attack, declare full or partial mobilisation with the submission of the adopted decision within three days for approval by the Council of the Republic’. Everything is clear — the Head of State is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. At the same time, the Belarusian People’s Congress has great powers to respond to any crisis situation. Again, let us quote the Basic Law.
Paragraph 10 of Article 89 (3) gives the supreme representative body of popular sovereignty the right, on the proposal of the President, to make a decision ‘on the possibility of sending military personnel, employees of paramilitary organisations, and other persons outside the Republic of Belarus to participate in ensuring collective security and activities to maintain international peace and security’. All the i’s have been dotted and all the t’s have been crossed. Our republic remains presidential, which makes it possible to ensure unity of command not only in peacetime, but also, most importantly, in the event of any external challenges and threats, including military ones. Along with that, democratic principles are enshrined in the need to receive approval of the Council of the Republic, as well as of the Belarusian People’s Congress on a wide range of questions. This ensures the full legitimacy when taking decisions that affect the fate of the country and every citizen.
The described system of ensuring national security is also important for another reason. The increased role of civil society places a special responsibility on all of us. Now the thesis that national defence is everyone’s business is not just a slogan. It is fixed in the specific mechanism of interaction between all branches of government, both at the republican and local levels, political parties, public associations, and citizens.
In this sense, the improvement of the political system plays no less a role than the strengthening of the Armed Forces. The army and other law enforcement agencies make part of society, they feel our support. Therefore, the past elections, the upcoming Belarusian People’s Congress, the coherence of actions by all subjects within domestic policy are also sections of the front, only a political one. After all, we are all fighting our common struggle for our native Belarus.
By Vadim Gigin, Candidate of Historical Sciences 