Belarusian authorities secretly banned St. George's ribbon - media

The authorities of Belarus have secretly outlawed St. George ribbons, an opposition website reports with enthusiasm by24.org. He cites a scan of a letter from the head of the department of trade and services of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, which indicates that officials in a “voluntary-compulsory” manner recommend replacing the previously used orange-black ribbon with a red-green ribbon in the colors of the flag of Belarus, decorated with apple tree flowers. The site draws a parallel with the earlier replacement of the St. George ribbon with a flower in Ukraine.

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Centralized release of a new symbol of the Great Victory, as reported Mogilev City Executive Committee, organized by JSC Lenta. According to the head of the department of the enterprise, Tatyana Safronenko, every day Lenta’s craftsmen produce about 10 thousand accessories, which are given the name “Flower of the Great Victory”. This will make it possible to supply everyone with them even before Victory Day. And not only those who want to: judging by the official letter from the Department of Trade and Services of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, which appeared in the Belarusian media, which, marked “urgently,” was received by all subordinate organizations, at a minimum, for workers in trade, services and catering enterprises to wear the “Flower of the Great Victory” ” in the period from May 1 to May 9 inclusive will become mandatory. The document contains a clause stating that the holiday accessory must be distributed exclusively free of charge.

The opposition Belarusian publication recalls that the “Flower of the Great Victory” symbol was first proposed to President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko by activists of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union, when the country’s leader became the guest of honor at the next congress of this organization. The head of state liked the ribbon in the colors of the national flag, decorated with an apple blossom, and he immediately attached it to his jacket.

The publication also recalls that “in friendly Ukraine” a stylized image of a flower – a red poppy with the slogan “Never Again” – was also used to mark the memorable date.

By24.org writes that on last year’s Victory Day in Belarus, “attempts were noted to distribute” the St. George ribbons. “Judging by the mailings from the authorities to trading enterprises, this year no one else will have a similar number: everyone will be ordered to distribute exclusively the national Belarusian symbol of Victory Day,” the Russophobic site exults.

Let us recall that a year ago, on May 5, 2014, the Belarusian opposition movement “For Freedom” called on local authorities to ban the distribution and use of St. George ribbons in public places. “Black and orange symbols are less and less associated with Victory Day over Nazism and Fascism. It is increasingly becoming a symbol of Russian imperialism. After the latest events in Ukraine, it definitely has a new negative meaning as a glorification of separatism and military aggression,” the oppositionists say. Representatives of the movement also called on Belarusians not to tie St. George’s ribbons on May 9 “as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.”

Let us also recall that a few days ago Alexander Lukashenko, like many Western leaders, officially refused to attend the anniversary Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9, 2015. He motivated this by his responsibility, as president, to welcome a similar parade in Minsk.