Natalia Kochanova meets with Belarusian Federation of Trade Unions

Chairman of the Council of the Republic Natalia Kochanova spoke before the FPB on the topic “Day of National Unity as a Factor of National Pride” on September 14, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency reports.

N. Kochanova reminded the audience that on September 17, Belarus will celebrate for the sixth time an important holiday for the country – the Day of National Unity. This date is timed to the beginning of the liberation campaign of the Red Army in 1939, thanks to which the reunification of Western Belarus and the Belarusian SSR took place. This event put an end to the division of the Belarusian people, which in 1921 under the terms of the Riga Peace Treaty was under the rule of Poland.

- We remember well the history when our country was cut to pieces and people ended up in different parts of Belarus. And, of course, it was a tragedy for our people when it was impossible to live on our land, according to our laws, in accordance with our traditions, to have nothing. They tried to “pollute” us, make us people who do not remember their roots, the head of the Council of the Republic noted, stressing that this time was difficult for Belarusians, but it is important to learn from it.

N. Kochanova drew special attention to the events of 2020:

- Then we saw that we need to talk, we need to remember, and we must not forget the lessons of history to please someone or fear to offend someone.

The Chairman of the Council of the Republic stressed that this is very important in the context of the unstable situation around and the geopolitical division of the world that is currently taking place.

- We are a long-suffering Belarusian people, but very courageous, persistent, who appreciated and appreciated their past. When we were divided and then reunited in 1939, people sighed because they began to live on their own land, according to their own laws and traditions. When the Great Patriotic War began and destroyed our country, the Belarusians were not brought to their knees. I always cite these examples and say: think, there was a war, our country did not give up. Partisan detachments, underground organizations, patriotic people stood up to protect their state, Kochanova said.

She also recalled the difficulties after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

- There is no salary, no job, no nothing, no country in which we lived, in which we loved and valued. And that’s when our wise people united and made the right decision to elect their President. And in these little more than 30 years, today we live in a beautiful, wonderful and magnificent country. And most importantly, we built our own sovereign and independent state for the first time. Today, our task is to preserve this state, preserve independence and sovereignty, Kochanova said.

She added that Belarusians need at all costs to preserve and increase what is today.

- We must do everything to ensure that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren live in an equally sovereign and independent country. We have everything for that, she added.

N. Kochanova drew special attention to the importance of economic development of Belarus:

The economy, as the president says, is first and foremost. Give us the economy and we will solve the rest. You should understand perfectly well: you need to preserve enterprises, you need to preserve organizations and institutions.

Another important topic is demographic security. The President of the Council of the Republic stressed that this is one of the branches of national security of the country.

- We must return to our traditional values. This is a family raising children, a family with many children, she said.

N. Kochanova reminded that support for families with children is the most important national priority in Belarus. The state aid system includes many financial payments, benefits and social services. In particular, Belarus is changing the approach to payments for children under three years of age: for those who had a sufficiently high salary before leaving for maternity leave, the allowance may increase.

Photo by the Council of the Republic