19 March 2024, Tuesday, 6:12
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‘Belarusians Never Forgive Such Things’

‘Belarusians Never Forgive Such Things’
PHOTO: EURORADIO.FM

Lukashenka in Kurapaty shot himself not even in the leg, but right in the head.

On April 4, the authorities demolished crosses around the Kurapaty perimeter. Activists report 100 crosses were brought down and taken away.

During a press-conference on March 1, Lukashenka expressed dissatisfaction with the crosses around Kurapaty, which are visible from the road. After the demolition of crosses in Kurapaty, the ruler’s press-secretary Natallia Eismant confessed this had been done under his personal order.

One of the leaders of the Belarusian National Congress Mikalai Statkevich urged the people to gather at 12.00 on Sunday, April 7 in the Freedom Square near the Minsk Holy Spirit Cathedral (Orthodox).

Co-Chairman of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Pavel Seviarynets supported the idea of a joint prayer on Sunday near the Minsk Holy Spirit Cathedral.

The website Charter97.org appealed to coordinator of the European Belarus civil campaign, one of the leaders of the Belarusian National Congress Yauhen Afnahel for a comment with regard to the current situation.

- You were an active participant in the first Kurapaty watch. How do you assess the fact that on the eve of Easter the authorities began to demolish the crosses in Kurapaty?

- I assess this just as any normal person does - as madness and wildness. What can I say - if even among the officials and staff propagandists, who usually approve any actions of the authorities, there was a shock about what happened in Kurapaty on April 4, what could be the reaction of normal people?

In my childhood I spent all school holidays in the village with my grandmother in the Biarezinski district. I remember that the desecration of graves was always considered the most serious, unforgivable misdemeanor. The villagers who drank too much at the cemetery or broke crosses, even accidentally, were despised. No one said hello to them in the streets, they became outcasts. Moreover, even after dozens of years, people did not forget about such “heroes”. Imagine, my grandmother remembered the names of people who, during the time of collectivization, broke the crosses installed at the local church. And their descendants had to leave the village because everyone hated them.

Respect for burials and graves is a very deep feature of the mentality of Belarusians, which has been formed for thousands of years. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of the country, including those far from religion, honor the memory of their ancestors. See how many people go to the cemeteries on Dziady and Radunitsa. Few nations have such a feature. Even the communist rulers of the BSSR were afraid to fight it - apparently, their sense of self-preservation worked a little better than this of the current authorities.

- Lukashenka’s press-secretary said that the crosses were brought down under his order. Why did the dictator need to give such orders? After all, it will not add to his popularity among Belarusians.

- Popularity is important for politicians who participate in free and fair elections and want to win them by winning real votes. Lukashenka does not belong to those, he does not care about the rating. Elections in Belarus are long gone. During the reign of the dictator, many decisions that put an end to his popularity were made. One more, one less - for him it does not matter.

It has long been observed that absolute, uncontrolled power leads to the fact that its owner loses touch with reality. Lukashenka’s actions were difficult to explain from the point of view of logic before. And do not try to do it. He was diagnosed 20 years ago; the war with the crosses in Kurapaty is most likely just a worsening of the disease.

The aggravation is so strong that, figuratively speaking, he already “shot” himself not in the leg, but right in the head. To order the demolition of crosses in Kurapaty is the most ridiculous thing he could have done in the conditions of the economic crisis and the total disappointment of the Belarusians in his model of the “welfare state”. In fact, Lukashenka began the war against himself with his own hands. In the eyes of the majority of Belarusians, he is now - the very outcast, ruining the cemeteries, and must leave without any conditions. People can forget a lot, but these are the things Belarusians will never forgive.

- The actions of the authorities in Kurapaty were condemned by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, this news spread all over the world media. What are the implications for the dictator’s reputation at the international level?

- In the recent years, the international community has preferred to close its eyes to what is happening in Belarus. Many Western politicians did not notice the repression, arrests and political prisoners, turned a blind eye to the destruction of independent media and harassment of journalists. Some did not disdain to meet with the dictator.

The shots taken on April 4 in Kurapaty are more than eloquent, it will not be easy to disregard them. I hope that the latest news from Belarus will still force those who are trying to whiten Lukashenka to be a little cleaner in the political sense. Still, one thing is to shake hands with the dictator, this seems like an ordinary thing already, but the other thing is to befriend with the barbnarian and tombs defiler.

As for the organizers of the European Games, and the athletes who plan to come to Minsk soon, I also advise you to think about it. Are you sure that you should go to a country ruled by a mad maniac?

- Mikalai Statkevich called on Belarusians to go to the Svabody Square on Sunday, April 7 at 12.00. Why is it important today to hold such an action?

- Many Belarusian politicians, public figures, representatives of the clergy have already called the events in Kurapaty a turning point in the history of today's Belarus. This has already happened before: at the end of the 80s, the revival of the country began from this very place. Today, the symbolism of Kurapaty is no less important.

The Lukashenka regime consistently destroys our country. At first he tried to do it quickly - in several years. Then, in the second half of the 90s, the heroic struggle of Belarusians did not allow him to achieve his goal and give up independence. After that, we gradually began to destroy what is dear to us. History is falsified, education and culture are destroyed, opposition leaders are being smashed or sforced to flee abroad. Now in Kurapaty, they began a battle with fundamental values, with the destruction of which the peoples, as a rule, quickly disappear - with faith, memory, traditions. If we are not be able to protect them, if we surrender - we will lose Belarus. If we defend them, as it happened more than once before, we will be able to return the rest.

Therefore, I will be at the Holy Spirit Cathedral at 12:00 on April 7. I am also asking all those, who understand how important it is for us, to come to the prayer service.

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