Volfovich: it’s duty of every Belarusian to preserve historical memory of great past

Fascism and neo-Nazism have become a reality again – as noted by the State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, Aleksandr Volfovich, at the international scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide held in Minsk today

“We are witnessing new followers of the aggressive ideologies emerging in the most enlightened countries of the world. The collective West is purposefully rewriting the history of World War II and the Great Patriotic War. The process of eliminating the dominant role of the Soviet people and all the republics of the former Soviet Union in the Great Victory over fascism is underway," Mr. Volfovich addressed those present.

The State Secretary noted that foreign youth often have no idea today who exactly endured the ordeal and won the bloodiest war, “Our neighbours now formally declare their commitment to democratic values, though, in fact, they prefer to forget the heroic past of their fathers and grandfathers and literally compete in barbarism and vandalism, destroy monuments to soldier-liberators and rename streets. Manipulation of well-known facts aimed at reformatting the consciousness of our society, weakening patriotic feelings, and devaluation of moral values is becoming commonplace in the media space. Calls to abandon national identity are actively spreading, while the fiercest struggle is being waged for the minds of young people.”

Mr. Volfovich also highlighted the fact that the erosion of the historical, national identity of the people of small states is being used as a tool to destroy internal stability. “In Belarus, people take care of their past, are proud of the exploits of the generation of winners, and honour the memory of the dead. Our updated Constitution enshrines the provision that preserving the historical memory of the great past of our people and patriotism are the duty of every citizen of Belarus," he said.

The State Secretary stressed that the Minsk conference participants once again drew attention of the entire world community to the atrocities that should not be forgotten due to the statute of limitations.