Pavel Latushka spoke at a rally in Warsaw on November 1, 2023
Pavel Pavlovich Latushka: Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Head of the National's Anti-Crisis Management, Ambassador
During his speech, Pavel Latushka said the following:
«I was 15 years old when my father first took part in a mass rally of Belarusian democratic forces. He went to Kurapaty for a rally in 1988. And then there were his “first hits with a stick” that he received. I remember him talking about how it was. Over time, it became part of my family's history.
35 years have passed, and this story is still in my memory. And today, among the sons and daughters of our parents, I fight together for the truth and freedom of our Motherland.
It is very important to remember the history of the family and clan. The history of antiquity, the history of traditions and the struggle of each family. Our children and grandchildren will remember us all equally and be proud of what we do today. What we do for ourselves and for them.
Belarusians will remember the victims of the repressions of Lukashism at the end of the 20th- beginning of the 21st century. Belarusians will not forget, just as Kurapaty did not forget. And today’s struggle will be remembered by generations of Belarusians».
The text of the resolution can be readon the NAM website
Full text of Pavel Latushka’s speech
On October 29-30, we all remembered that terrible, black night of 1937. The Night of the Executed Poets
However, clearly understanding the loss that Belarusians suffered that night, our culture and science must also understand that this memory and this is pain, not elitism. After all, the Russian and Soviet empires destroyed not only the Belarusian elite.
They destroyed the nation as a whole. They destroyed our roots to uproot our national identity - both in peasant thought and in intellectual thought.
The goal of empires in relation to Belarus has always been the same. Destroy the nation, destroy culture, language, thought, the desire for independence, the desire for one’s own state.
And today it remains the same. Because our people have not achieved this goal, no matter how hard they try. No matter how hard he tried, the new Muravyov is Lukashenko.
And the Belarusians are still alive. And Belarus lives. And it will live on because we continue to fight, no matter where we are. Because our language still sounds, our words still sound and they sound like this:
We remember everything. We will not give up.
And let Muravyov-Lukashenko know that we will not give up, that we will not give up our goals. And this:
freedom for all political prisoners without exception;
freedom for all Belarusian men and women from dictatorship, repression and violence;
freedom for all of Belarus - from Lukashenko and from the rule of Ruskomir.
And let his entourage know that without these conditions there will be no agreements. Just as there will be no agreements with Lukashenko himself.
Belarusians will negotiate with Belarusians. Belarusians will negotiate with the civilized world.
We have nothing to negotiate with Lukashenko and the Russian World. The Lukashenko regime will be forced out of Belarus because we will not stop our pressure. Because we have no right to stop this if we want the sacrifices of our Grandfathers, our contemporaries and our sacrifices to be in vain.
I was 15 years old when my father probably took part in a mass rally of Belarusian democratic forces for the first time. He went to Kurapaty for a rally in 1988. And then... Then there were his “first blows with batons”, tear gas. I remember him talking about how it was. Over time, it became part of my family's history. 35 years have passed, and this story is still in my memory. And today, among the sons and daughters of our parents, I fight together for the truth and freedom of our Motherland.
And I also remember how in my grandparents’ house on Grandfather’s Day the oldest man in the family came to the window and knocked on silently, then went to the door, opened it and invited the ancestors to come to the table. This was a long-standing tradition in our family, which passed through the centuries and eventually reached my family.
It is very important to remember the history of the family and clan. Stories from ancient times, the history of traditions and the struggle of each family. This is how our children and grandchildren will remember us all and be proud of what we do today. What we do for ourselves and for them.
And they will be proud of all of you, those who are fighting, those who are forced to sit in prisons today, who suffer, who brought your life on the altar of freedom. They will be proud of them.
And Belarusians will remember the victims of the repressions of Lukashism at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. Belarusians will not forget, just as Kurapaty did not forget. And today’s struggle will be remembered by generations of Belarusians.
Long live Belarus!
Warsaw, November 1, 2023 Grandfathers