Belarusian Archeologists Demand to Reveal Facts of NKVD crimes In Kurapaty Forest in 1930- 40ies :: Charter'97 :: News

A group of Belarusain archeologists in Minsk released a statement convicting the authorities, that classified as secret the results of the last investigation of the state commission in Kurapaty and demanded to publish the truth about manslaughter by NKVD in Kurapaty forest in 1930-40ies. Some Belarusian non-state organizations and political parties joined these demands. In the document the scientists call immoral the attempts of the authorities to make the public believe that the buried in Kurapaty are victims of the Nazi.

“The official conclusion of a governmental commission made in the beginning of the 90ies, stating that starting from the second part of the 30ies and up to the beginning of the Great Patriotic war people were massacred in Kurapaty by NKVD men, remains incontestable. It is substantiated not only by the evidence of more than 200 witnesses, but also by archive documents, the findings of graves’ exhumation and examinations of crime detection experts”, -- the statement emphasizes.

Belarusian archeologists believe that now, when the necessity of construction of a memorial in Kurapaty is doubted, every citizen of the country should form his own opinion on the grounds of the undeniable facts. That is why they consider it essential and well-timed to inform wide public about genocide of the Belarusian people in the Stalin era, in the 30ies, in order to stop humiliation of the remains of innocent victims. And to stop the construction of the road on the bones, but to change its course a little.

The statements condemning the actions of the authorities in Kurapaty were also issued by Frantsishak Skaryna Association of Belarusian Language, civil initiative “For Kurapaty Protection”, and by Belarusian Social-Democratic Hramada. Its leader Stanislau Shushkevich, former speaker of the Supreme Soviet, while in office, contributed to the fact that the former parliament passed a decision about creating a memorial in Kurapaty. Commenting the latest events when dozens of young people tried to block the way for bulldozers, Shushkevich said that he is proud of them. But he has no illusions that the authorities solve the problem lawfully, as he frequently observed lack of respect to the memory of the victims from the authorities. Ex-speaker of the Parliament believes in joint efforts of the young people, intelligentsia and those who care, who can save the sacred national necropolis.