‘Nation should know its defenders’. Lukashenka not to cut costs on military parade
Belarus president Alyaksandr Lukashenka wants the upcoming Independence Day parade to be of the highest possible standards, he said when hearing out a report on preparations on Monday.
“We have decided we are going to organize a parade this year. There is no need to spare money for it. Moreover, the expense is not that large. We need a genuine and impressive parade. This is what a parade is supposed to achieve. It is a demonstration. We are going to demonstrate to the people that the army does its job,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes him.
According to him, the nation should see what the Belarusian army does, and what weapons it has. “People need to see the faces of their defenders!” the Belarusian leader added.
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The official Independence day is celebrated on July 3, on the day of liberation of the Belarusian capital from German invaders. Such decision was taken by the republican referendum held in1996. Earlier the Independence day had been commemorated on July 27, its celebration being coincided with the day of passing the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990.
The opposition does not recognise the official Independence Day. According to them it is the March 25, 1918 that should be taken as the starting point of the Belarusian independence. On March 25, 1918 the Provisional government (Rada) proclaimed the independence of the Belarusian National Republic that came into existence at the end of the First World War, when Bolshevik forces left Minsk and the city was occupied by German troops. After the Red Army re-entered Minsk, the Communist government replaced the Rada; its members had to emigrate. Opposition activists and civil society actors celebrate the anniversary of the proclamation of the BNR annually.
