MINSK, January 10 President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that Belarusians must teach their children to distinguish native traditions from alien ones for the sake of a free and independent life on their land.
«It should be remembered that the future of our children depends on how we protect the purity of our native language, what holidays and symbols we let into our homes. If we want them to live on their land freely and independently, like we do, then we must first of all, to teach to distinguish native traditions from alien ones,» Lukashenka said on Tuesday in Minsk at the ceremony of presenting the prize «For Spiritual Revival» and special presidential prizes. The words of the head of state are quoted by his press service.
Lukashenka noted that «the annual ceremony of awarding the laureates of the year's prizes is, first of all, a sign of recognition of all those who work in the humanitarian and cultural fields, who preserve their spiritual origins.» «Without exaggeration, your role is also leading in matters of ensuring the national security of the Republic of Belarus,» the head of state stated, addressing the laureates.
He recalled that the first laureates of the «For Spiritual Revival» award were honored in Belarus more than a quarter of a century ago. Lukashenka said that at that time in Belarus they could not even imagine what challenges they would face in the struggle «for their spirituality, for their historical heritage and for their way of life.»
«But we have always known, and today we are especially keenly aware that all the tangible and intangible values created by the Belarusian people are the very bonds on which the national statehood was born and developed. They are in the works of the first enlighteners of the Belarusian land, in the our architects of temples, palaces and museums, in the masterpieces of music, painting, poetry and prose created by our talented compatriots… They are in the exploits of the victorious people who gave us peace, independence, the very right to live, the working people who revived the native land,» the President continued.
The Head of State also emphasized the significant role of Orthodoxy in Belarus, «which united the Slavs into an ancient state more than a thousand years ago, which taught mercy, peacefulness and love for one's neighbor.»