Kochanova: bells of Khatyn endlessly remind of Nazis’ atrocities for edification to all living people
On March 22nd, 1943, Khatyn and all its residents were burnt down, becoming a symbol of the unconquered spirit of the Belarusian people, a place of memory for all the settlements destructed by the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War. Natalya Kochanova, the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, has made a statement on Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Khatyn Tragedy.
We are all eyewitnesses of difficult transformations in modern history. This change of geopolitical epochs is accompanied by a constantly increasing struggle for leadership in the new system of international co-ordinates. Some countries have declared themselves the arbiters of the fate of mankind, and – in an effort to preserve world hegemony – they are trying to slow down the development of those they dislike, destroying the global security system, replicating ‘colour’ revolutions and armed conflicts on all continents.
They are rewriting the events and results of WWII, shifting the blame for its outbreak to the USSR. Resolutions are being adopted in which the Great Victory and its real heroes are denigrated, while Nazi war criminals and their accomplices are justified. We see the fruits of this policy not only when the banners of fascism and Nazism are openly raised, but also, above all, when a harsh misanthropic regime is established that deprives innocent people of the right to elect, the right to freedom, and the right to life… This cannot but worry us.
We – Belarusians – have fully experienced what war, fascism, Nazism, and genocide are. That disaster affected every Belarusian family: during the Great Patriotic War, every third resident died, and – in times of the occupation – the republic turned into a collective concentration camp. Thousands of settlements were destroyed, hundreds of villages burned to the ground along with their inhabitants, including women and infants. Eight decades have passed, but the pain is still in our hearts.
The bells of Khatyn sound stronger than any warning for us; they are an endless incessant alarm reminding us of the Nazis’ atrocities, they are an edification to all living people.
It is only by preserving the memory of those terrible events, by passing it from one generation to another, we can hope that nothing of the kind will ever happen again: not the dead need this, but those who are alive! The international recognition of the genocide of the Belarusian people, as well as the genocide of all Soviet citizens, is a matter of honour for us and our common moral duty. We will be worthy of the memory of the fallen!
We deeply mourn all the innocent victims of the genocide and sacredly honour the memory of the heroes who died in the fight against Nazism. We believe in the ultimate victory over the brown plague and liberation from the politicians poisoned by revanchist sentiments. We hope all those blinded by this deadly disease will see things clearly. We always call on all forces of goodwill to team up and stand united against the instigators of a new world war, resolutely defend the right of every person to live in peace and tranquillity, the right of all mankind to the future.
We always stand for peace, mutual respect, equality and dialogue of peoples, for a new, more just, balanced and secure multipolar world order.
We are immensely grateful to our President, highly respected Aleksandr Grigorievich Lukashenko, for the political course he is pursuing. Thanks to the latter, the current generation of Belarusians enjoys a peaceful sky over their prosperous and beautiful country.
