Lukashenko on centuries-old experience of legal traditions in Belarusian land
The present Constitution of Belarus is a document that is the same age as the country itself, and it is also the result of centuries-old experience in the development of Belarusian legal traditions and state building – as noted by President Aleksandr Lukashenko at today’s meeting dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
The Head of State has always been careful towards continuity. His attitude has never changed, and – addressing the meeting participants – he said, “I have always said that there is no nation, no state without traditions. This is a matter of continuity of the people’s history and the preservation of the cultural code. Moreover, I can even say that this is a matter of our sacred connection with the previous generations and those who will come after us.”
Belarus may be a young state, but Belarusians are a mature nation – and this status could hardly be challenged. The same could be said of the country’s Constitution that – as noted by the President – embodies the achievements of many eras. “On the one hand, this document is the same age as sovereign Belarus. On the other hand, it is the result of centuries-old experience in the development of legal traditions and state building on our land,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
The Belarusian leader added that, with this in view, the 30th anniversary of the Basic Law is a good ground to analyse the path passed – especially now, when humanity is on the verge of a global change of epochs. “Today it is extremely important not only to know and understand, but also to clearly voice the historical facts that are part of the national identity of Belarusians, to constantly repeat them for ourselves and for those who follow us. There are many such facts, and they are all important,” he said.
As noted by Aleksandr Lukashenko, there is definitely a piece of the tradition of the Polotsk Veche [assembly] in Belarus’ Basic Law – ‘maybe not so much democratic, from the perspective of today’, “Only men took part in that national assembly, but those were representatives of ordinary people who – in the sharp moments of history – decided who to rule, who to trade with, and who to fight against. In modern terms, it was at the Veche that the most important decisions of strategic development were made – not by the will of one person, the prince, but following the citizens’ consent.”
The Head of State added that similar powers had been constitutionally assigned to the delegates of the Belarusian People's Congress. “We have also done this following our people’s consent, by an absolute majority of votes. As a result, we have actually created a mechanism that will not allow the government to break away from the people in the future. We have put up a constitutional barrier against the so-called elitism, rejected by Belarusians at the genetic level since the times when our ancestors were under the rule of Lithuanian and Polish elites, losing the traditions of people’s government,” he explained.
The President emphasised that much stir had been aroused in connection to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania’s statutes recently. According to him, the latter were progressive for the time of their existence, they significantly influenced the development of legislation in all European states. Meanwhile, in history – as stated by the Head of State – these documents have remained as laws reflecting the interests of exceptionally rich and noble people, which further aggravated social inequality not in form, but in fact.
Referring to the Constitution of the RzechPospolita, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that it, actually, devoted no points to the guarantees of our people’s rights. Moreover, the period of Belarusian lands being part of the Russian Empire did not leave any serious trace in the Belarusian legal tradition.
