July 27 is an anniversary of
the declaration of independence by Belarus. On 27 July 1990, the BSSR
Supreme Soviet passed the Declaration of State Sovereignty. The day was a national
holiday before Alyaksandr Lukashenka abolished it in 1996. The city government
in Minsk banned
opposition groups from holding anniversary celebrations in the capital this
year.
The 1990 declaration
proclaimed "full state sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus
as the supremacy, independence and integrity of state authority within the
borders of its territory, the rule of its laws, and the country's independence
in foreign affairs." The declaration was given the status of a
constitutional law on August 25, 1991 and the 1978 Constitution was brought
into line with its provisions. Belarus
adopted a new constitution on March 15, 1994. The nation celebrated its
Independence Day on July 27 from 1991 to 1996. Alyaksandr Lukashenka through a
controversial referendum brought forward Independence Day to July 3, an
anniversary of Minsk's
liberation from the Nazis.
Ten members of the Belarusian
Popular Front (BPF)’s youth wing marched along Minsk’s thoroughfare, Independence Avenue, on July 26 to mark
the anniversary. The youths handed out badges and postcards saying, “The
Supreme Soviet adopted the State Sovereignty Declaration on July 27, 1990. The
main value of the document was the declaration of an independent state, Belarus. Today
we mark 18 years since our independence. The time has come to make important
decisions and be responsible for one’s own fate, the time to begin an
independent life in a new, free and independent country.”
