Chupris: fugitive extremists opposed themselves to Belarus
Those, who committed crimes against the Belarusian people and the state system and then went abroad, opposed themselves to the country – as stressed by the Deputy Head of the President Administration, Olga Chupris, following a meeting focusing on amendments to the law on citizenship held today with the Head of State’s participation
Ms. Chupris noted that the institution of citizenship involves many issues, and they were raised by the Head of State. In this regard, she recalled the institution of citizenship from the Soviet times: people lived in a single state, there was a single citizenship, and no one attached importance to this since no national citizenship existed. Citizens of a single country, by migrating from one place to another, sometimes found their homeland in a completely unique place: i.e. Russians in Uzbekistan, Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan, and so on. However, after the USSR collapse, that tendency played a cruel joke.
“Citizenship became a mechanism that contributed to nationalisation and greater sovereignty of states, because laws on citizenship were among the first ones adopted by sovereign states. Quite strict requirements were placed on citizens. Moreover, that terms were hypertrophied in some states: i.e. the institution of citizenship in Latvia transformed into a national and somewhere even chauvinistic institution,” the Deputy Head of the President Administration noted.
Therefore, this institution is extremely important from the point of view of law and politics. Ms. Chupris added, “The President has mentioned this several times today, also asking questions on parallel topics: i.e. the Pole’s card, citizenship of a foreign state, how we will treat this. We should declare today that the state keeps these issues under control. Citizens should understand that it is necessary to take seriously the institution of citizenship, and that this is a special political and legal relationship between the state and the citizen. Accordingly, this is a mutual range of rights and obligations.”
Another issue, according to the official, concerns how people will treat those who committed a crime against the citizens of Belarus and the state, who left the country and still continue illegal activities from abroad. “Should we view them as citizens of our country? By and large, they opposed themselves to the country. They no longer have any connection with this country. Accordingly, it must be recognised that they have independently lost their citizenship, and the state can recognise the fact of such a loss in this case,” Ms. Chupris noted.
As informed by the Deputy Head of the President Administration, the bill had been mostly approved by the Head of State. It was decided to send the document to Parliament to finalise it.
