Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya: “On July 27, 1990, Belarus took a decisive step toward independence with the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty.
To some, this may sound like just another historical date from a textbook. But behind it were people who wanted Belarus to finally determine its own future. They wanted our country to have its own laws, its own policies, and its own future. They wanted no one from outside to decide the fate of our land.
It was the result of a national awakening. After Chornobyl happened, after the truth about Kurapaty came to light, and as freedom movements spread across neighboring countries, more and more Belarusians came to realize that we had the right to be an independent nation. Belarus had the right to exist — not as an appendage to someone else’s empire but as a home for its own people.
Independence did not come by itself. People fought for it, chose it, and defended it. Even those who later began dismantling Belarusian statehood voted at the time for sovereignty, neutrality, and a non-nuclear status.
This day is not only about the past. It is about the present. Because Belarus must be independent, peaceful, and free from foreign weapons and foreign wars”.
