Special report: President Lukashenko's speech at the Special Meeting on May 7

These days Belarus celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the Great Victory in the Great Patriotic War (the label given to the Second World War in the former USSR and used across all former of its republics so far). On May 7, 2005, the President of Belarus, Mr. Alexander Lukashenko delivered a speech at the Grand Meeting in the honor of the 60th Anniversary of the Great Victory held in the Palace of the Republic at the center of Minsk. Mr. Lukashenko not only thanked the veterans and praised the heroism of the winners in the Great Patriotic War, but made many important statements on domestic and foreign policies of Belarus. The statements are grouped according to the themes they belong to.

1. Against falsifiers and falsifications of the Great Patriotic War
The President of Belarus opened the floor with saying that the Great Patriotic War was the most terrible and bloody war that rolled over the Belarusian land. The German war machine, driven by the ideas of fascism and the world supremacy, threatened the very existence of human civilization , and that is why the fate of all humankind was decided at the battlefields of the holy war then turned into the Great Patriotic one. According to the President, it was first of all the Soviet people who made the full and unconditional final blow on Hitler s Germany and its satellites . Belarus is noticeable among other republics of the former USSR for its historically unprecedented large-scale guerrilla movement . The President of Belarus directed attention to the enormous tolls of the Soviet Union, amounting to almost 30 million people who died, including 18 million of civilians. However, recently even those figures have become the object of political speculations . Mr. Lukashenko spoke of falsifiers who substitute notions by saying that human life was undervalued in the USSR and that is why there were so many losses. According to the President, the latter is determined by the treacherous aggression of Germany and mass shootings of prisoners of war and civilians, barbaric bombardments of cities, burning of villages, and destruction of millions of the Soviet people at the fascists camps of death . Mr. Lukashenko pointed to the fact that after the decades since the end of the war, some try to hide the truth about war and the Great Victory behind the web of lies . These new historical revelations are shameful because almost literally repeat the lines of Hitlerite propaganda , aimed at justifying the brutality of fascism and resurrecting the Nazi ideology , explained the President of Belarus.

2. Fascism in contemporary Europe and the role of Belarus
Mr. Lukashenko claimed that today a civilized Europe, which groan about and suffer from the human rights in other countries, allow the fascist followers to raise their heads . In Latvia, police protects rallies of the former SS-men and disperse anti-fascists pickets. In Estonia, May 9 is not established as a public holiday, while memorials are erected in honor of chasteners who burned villages and towns of Belarus and Russia. The President also criticized the home-bred Belarusian democrats who praise the fascist invaders as liberators from Bolshevik-totalitarian regime and portray their accomplices as prominent figures of national renaissance . That is why, according to him, our sacred duty is to uphold and defend the truth and show the whole world the decisive role of the USSR, of which Belarus was integral part . Belarus is particularly endowed with the right and obligation of speaking the truth about the Great Patriotic War, regardless of price we would pay for it , said Mr. Lukashenko. This is also because of the losses our republic suffered from the aggression. Occupants destroyed more than 200 towns and settlements, 200,000 villages, while the Belarusian land lost every third of its inhabitants , claimed the President.

3. The Great Victory as an element of ideology
The President particularly stressed that the Great Victory was not only the military defeat of fascism. It was the spiritual victory of Good over Evil, Life over Death, Humanity over Bestiality . According to him, the Great Victory is one of the key components of the world-view of the Belarusian people and our state ideology the ideology of patriotism . Addressing to veterans particularly, the President said that in spite of some points we are weaker than theirs [the West and the Baltic states in particular] , the spirit of today s youth, the spirit of those elected by you is by no means weaker than yours . We show that spirit, if it would be necessary, added Mr. Lukashenko.

4. Geopolitics, security, and foreign policy
Mr. Lukashenko claimed peace in Europe was secured due to the Great Victory and the political, economic, and military power and authority of the Soviet Union . The President called the demise of the USSR the greatest geopolitical catastrophe proved to be destructive for the political stability of the world. For Belarus, the collapse of the USSR has been one the three catastrophes along with the Great Patriotic War and the disaster of Chernobyl that Belarus suffered from in the course of the 20th century. According to the President of Belarus, we came out of the [Soviet] Union beggarly and naked. Over the last ten years we have clambered from the deep abyss in which we have trapped after the demise of the USSR. We have not asked anyone for anything. We cope with our problems ourselves. Just do not impede us [doing that]. We would simply not allow to do that [with us]. The Belarusian people deserve its land, its statehood, its certainly better life. And we will do that , stressed Mr. Lukashenko. According to him, some countries feel themselves absolute masers of the world . With undue familiarity, they interfere with internal affairs of sovereign states, which are being located thousands of kilometers away, but suddenly become a zone of their national interests . The President of Belarus provided audience with one of the examples of such interference. According to him, recently entire arms depots have been discovered near Minsk. Not so long ago a successive global portion of drugs valued at millions of US dollars was received [in Belarus] but detained by our law-enforcement agencies . But we did not ask anyone to carry arms and drugs. We do not need them. But is not it a violation of human rights right of normal life . The President of Belarus pointed to the expansion of the NATO bloc contrary to promises to dissolve it made right after the break-up of the Warsaw Treaty . He also criticized the forced imposition of democracy that left adverse consequences in Serbia, Afghanistan and Iraq . There is now a new list of countries with wrong democracy , warned the President of Belarus. In his words, today there is no country [in the world] that feels safe from attempts aimed at interfering with its internal affairs . It is in these rather complicated circumstances, Belarus is consistently implementing peace-loving policy . In particular, the Belarusian authorities have been pioneers in proposing the idea of creating a nuclear-free belt from the Baltic to Black see and the nuclear-free space at the center of Europe . The President of Belarus reminded that nuclear forces of the Soviet Army (consisting of 271 tactical, 318 operation and tactical missiles and 81 launchers for intercontinental ballistic missiles Topol ) were completely called off the Belarusian territory. Mr. Lukashenko stressed that he personally is not related to that [calling off]. There were certain overseas masters and also someone near, making compliments to the Belarusian authorities at that time, who encouraged them morally and maybe personally to call the strategic forces off the Belarusian territory. I only know that the state has not gained anything from that. I do not object to reduction of arms. We do not need so many of them. But it cost billions and billions of US dollars! The physical price, not to speak of political, some other components, diplomatic, was 7 billion dollars! And our country was provided nothing in exchange , grieved the President. Despite the promises to provide full security to and protection of the Belarusian people, full funding and economic support , we received nothing, added Mr. Lukashenko.

The President of Belarus called attention to the official Military doctrine adopted in Belarus for its defensive character . Not a single country of the world is considered as a potential enemy of Belarus. Our core aim is to provide security to our own people and our land , explained Lukashenko. According to him, large-scale military maneuvers are carried out in order to keep up the high level of alertness of the Belarusian Army . The latter is able to cause an unacceptable damage to any aggressor . He ensured the Belarusian people that the armed forces of Belarus are able to protect the sovereignty and the independence of the country and the peaceful labour of its citizens .

5. Situation in the neighboring countries: the Baltic States and Ukraine
In the words of the President, he was forced to explain recent affairs related to Belarus, and particularly the recent meeting of the Presidents of the Baltic States with the U.S. President. Claiming that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in fact serve their overseas master , Mr. Lukashenko threatened the leadership of these countries and also instructed them to discuss their own problems with their master . In the words of Mr. Lukashenko, we welcome if there is someone of them mainly overseas guest presidents learned the geographical and political map and showed their overseas master where the Belarus is [on these maps]. We welcome such talks, but any other talks, I am afraid, would come to a bad end for the leaders of these Baltic states , said Mr. Lukashenko. There has been no case in the world politics when situation in a particular state has been discussed without a representative from that state , claimed the President of Belarus. He then particularly stressed that he is not feeling intimidated because he is not fearful and our power is unified and monolithic as never before because it is supported by the people . The Belarusian President also criticized the developments in Ukraine and the position of its leadership in particular, calling upon it to pay attention, first of all, to their own problems . According to him, the West and the USA promised Ukraine many things . And you can see on your own what has been given to Ukraine by the West in reality. Today production dropped by a half of [the level of] bad Kuchma , national currency collapsed, and many other issue arose , explained Mr. Lukashenko.

6. A precept for veterans and the general public
The end of Mr. Lukashenko s speech was marked by gratitude to veterans for their outstanding deeds that will be permanently kept in people s memory . In his words, veterans are the reliable bulwark of the state, the holders of higher traditions of patriotism and public spirit . That is why an independent and sovereign Belarus has made and will do everything in its power to provide the generation of winners with a decent level if living . The President of Belarus stressed that veterans left an unforgettable lesson for the upcoming generations . It is the lesson of courage, patriotism and love of freedom . Mr. Lukashenko ensured that historic achievements and the Great Victory would be saved forever since the country would not be surrendered to adventurers and their Western prot g s . We would firmly and consistently build our strong and prosperous Belarus our native and cozy home , said the President of Belarus. He then warmly congratulated the veterans, all citizens of Belarus and the foreign guests with the 60th Anniversary of the Great Victory.