Inauguration of the Memorial to Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

On 3 August 1996 Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko attended the inauguration of the monument to the peacekeeping soldiers who died in Afghanistan. “The monument we are opening today has already made history. Everyone knows that the parents of the fallen soldiers took its construction close to heart, that the mothers put in much effort and energy for the monument to be built here, on this island, which symbolizes the faraway Afghan land. They spent nine years to raise money to build the monument, but they had to fight the red tape and stubbornness of officials and the cynicism of some shameless politicians who sought to defile the memory of their children. As president and man, I could not and had no right not to respond to the call of the parents of the killed peacekeeping soldiers to help build the monument. I am sincerely glad that I made my contribution to this sacred cause,” the Belarusian leader said.

Cutting the red ribbon, the head of state unveiled the monument. After that 300 pigeons, symbolizing the souls of the dead, were released into the sky. The guard of honor honored the memory of the fallen by a three-volley salute. Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, consecrated the monument.