On September 17, US Under Secretary of State David Hale and representatives of the US Embassy in Belarus visited Kurapaty, a Stalin-era mass executions site near Minsk.
Намеснік Дзяржсакратара Дэвід Хэйл наведаў Курапаты, каб узгадаць пра трагічны лёс ахвяраў тыраніі і тэрору, адзначыць…
Opublikowany przez U.S. Embassy Minsk, Belarus Wtorek, 17 września 2019
The top US official remembered the tragic fate of the victims of tyranny and terror and reflected on Belarus’ sacrifice in its struggle for independence.
David Hale expressed hope the such events would never happen again.
By various estimates, Kurapaty might have become a grave for up to 30,000 – 250,000 victims of Stalinists. Among them, there were people of different nationalities: Belarusians, Poles, Russians, Jews and others. Later the Communist party repeatedly attempted to shift the blame for shootings on Nazis. In 1994, the then U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Kurapaty. At the same time, Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has never come to honour the memory of the killed during his 25-year presidency.
As reported earlier, the United States and Belarus agreed to restore diplomatic missions to the ambassadorial level, David Hale said in the wake of Tuesday’s meeting with Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
