Opinions & Interviews

Andreichenko: The nation without a collective memory is doomed to loss of identity

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MINSK, 29 April (BelTA) - The nation who has not formed a collective memory is doomed to loss of identity, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said during the parliamentary hearings of the Territorial Integrity and National Unity of Belarus. Historical and Legal Aspects of the Reunification of the Western Belarusian Lands within the BSSR,” BelTA has learned.

“The current parliamentary hearings are a continuation of the great systemic work that we do within the framework of the Union State, the CSTO and the CIS to protect the historical truth and preserve the historical memory. Unfortunately, the worldview confrontation which is based on attempts to revise the results of the Second World War is taking on truly global proportions. Belarus, being on the geopolitical divide between East and West, has again found itself in the epicenter of this conflict. In this situation, discussions of a purely academic nature seem to pose a very real threat to our national security. After all, the preservation of national unity and the territorial integrity of the state depend directly on how a society treats its past,” said Vladimir Andreichenko.

According to him, key moments in history are of particular importance here. For Belarus and the Belarusians, one of such events is certainly the reunification of the Western Belarusian lands within the BSSR.

“The purpose of our parliamentary hearings is to look at this event through the eyes of the Belarusians, to set political accents based on their national interests. Citizens should understand what is going on around Belarus and why it is being done. We have never raised these issues to this level before so as not to hurt the national feelings of our neighbors. Unfortunately, it is perceived as weakness, as an inability to defend one’s interests, and only encourages certain forces seeking to split the Belarusian society. Viewing Belarus as an obstacle to the implementation of their geopolitical plans, they are trying to reshape our historical memory and instill Belarusians with a complex of national inferiority. The goal is simple: the people who do not have a collective memory, are doomed to loss of identity, and thus the right to determine their own destiny. They want us to forget the tragedy of the Riga Treaty, which tore Belarus apart, the policy of polonization of the Belarusian people, the atrocious crimes of the so-called ‘cursed soldiers’ against the Belarusian population,” the speaker said.

At the same time, the restoration of historical justice, which undoubtedly became the reunification of the Belarusian lands, is presented as an act of aggression. “For us, such interpretations are completely unacceptable. The Belarusians have suffered for their sovereign right to be a single nation and live in a single state. To remember this is our sacred duty,” Vladimir Andreichenko added.

The hearings will highlight international and geopolitical consequences of the reunification of the Belarusian people, history and modernity of Belarusian-Polish relations, ways of legislative consolidation of the bases of state activity on the preservation of historical heritage and other issues.

Among the participants are representatives of the Justice Ministry, the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Belarus, the National Academy of Sciences, the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Research, the Belarusian Research Institute of Document Study and Archival Affairs, scientific organizations and higher educational institutions.

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