BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Last update - 09:56 29/04/2005

Belarus hosting int'l conference on partisans who fought Nazis

By The Associated Press

MINSK, Belarus - Belarus is hosting an international conference opening Friday for partisans and other underground fighters who resisted Nazi occupation during World War II.

The two-day conference is being held in the capital, Minsk, which was largely destroyed in fighting during the war. This ex-Soviet republic became a key battleground and lost more than a quarter of its population.

Belarus continues to celebrate the heroic feats of partisans and underground fighters who kept up resistance to the Nazis throughout the occupation, and helped the Soviet Army force the Germans to retreat.

"It's symbolic that your meeting is being held on Belarusian soil," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a greeting. "Precisely here, in Belarus, the 'partisan war' reached its most significant dimensions."

He hailed the partisans for "almost literally 'burning the ground under the feet'" of retreating Nazi soldiers.

The conference includes the opening of a monument dedicated to the partisan fighters, as well as a new book connected to the theme.

Additionally, President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to award the soldiers honorary medals in connection with the 60th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

Source:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570493.html


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