March 25, 1918 - 90 years after

Today is the Day of Independence for many Belarusian, it's the 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the independence of Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918. That's why today, I will post the words by Ivonka Survilla, current president of The BNR Rada in exile. This statement was made in Prague, on March 22 at the conference "Past, Present and Future of the Belarusian Statehood":

"The proclamation of independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic on March, 25 1918 is maybe the most important event in modern Belarusian history. Without the proclamation of independence the BSSR would not be allowed to exist and there would not be an independent republic of Belarus now. In fact, there would not be many Belarusians left after 90 years of russification. But despite the importance of BNR is also one of the well kept secrets of Europe, it has been particularly well-kept in Belarus, for obvious reasons. Even after 90 years the very mention of the BNR looks dangerous for the dictatorship in power. In exile, however, the BNR has kept idea of March 25, 1918 to this day. […]

This is why, it is so important to celebrate this day for every Belarusian in the world. I wish you all a beautiful celebration. "

And here comes her call to Belarusian young people (in Belarusian):

Video by Tatsiana Khoma for Generation.by