Only Polish delegation comes to Kurapaty after visiting Trastsyanets


The presidents of Germany and Austria, as well as senior representatives of the Czech Republic and Poland arrived in Belarus to open a memorial on the site of the concentration camp “Trastyanets”. However, only representatives of Poland later came to Kurapaty.

Bishops of three faiths, the delegation of five foreign countries and high-ranking Belarusian officials have opened a memorial at the site of the former Nazi concentration camp in the village of Trastyanets.

Earlier, the experts said that Alyaksandr Lukashenka would use the ceremony to improve his image in the West. The Belarusian leader made several eloquent statements.

“It seems that the lessons of World War II, common to all, have been learned by the humankind. But today we see that the past is not leaving us. Many do not recognize state borders. The world community is again faced with the “demons of intolerance” that incite hatred and violence,” Lukashenka said in Trastyanets.

Trastsyanets ranks fourth in terms of the number of victims among all the Nazi concentration camps. Over 200 thousand people — prisoners of war, prisoners of the Minsk Jewish ghetto and prison, as well as Jews from Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland — were killed there.

“I am looking at this makeshift room — we are like a family. And it seems to me, it is the main symbol of today’s meeting,” said Lukashenka.

In order not to spoil the family reconciliation, the authorities decided to get rid of the active defenders of the other places of memory — Kurapaty. Protests against the restaurant “Let’s Go and Eat” have been going there for a month. Activist Zmitser Dashkevich which was carrying to the place of Stalinist executions personally manufactured crosses was detained. His firm is now subject to a check by the department fighting economic crimes.

The police have drawn dozens of protocol against activists who had blocked the restaurant that opened at the site of the massacre.

Protesters in Kurapaty invited representatives of all the delegations who came to the opening of the memorial in Trastsyanets. However, the place of the Stalinist terror was visited only by the Polish delegation led by Secretary of the Presidential Office Krzysztof Szczerski. The visit was short. The politicians gave no comments to the media and did not come out to the protesters.

“We will not give comments now. We’re going to Trastsyanets, but here we have paid tribute. The Minister is leaving soon. We do not have time,” Ambassador Artur Michalski told our channel.

Alyaksandr Papko; Photo – Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters / Forum

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