{"id":144610,"date":"2025-06-30T11:48:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T08:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/144610\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"veteran-opposition-leader-urges-belarusians-to-rally-around-their-language","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/144610\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran opposition leader urges Belarusians to rally around their language"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
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\n\n Zianon Pa\u017aniak at the conference \n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

June 30, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> The Belarusian nation’s survival depends on whether it will manage to save the Belarusian language and expand its use, said Zianon Pa\u017aniak, a longtime rival of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka living in exile since 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u017aniak, who now heads the Volnaja Bie\u0142aru\u015b movement, made this statement at a conference in Warsaw yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are in a unique situation, with Russia, our nation\u2019s mortal enemy, right next door,\u201d he said. \u201cLosing the Belarusian language while living next to imperial Russia will mean only Russification.\u201d Belarusians will not be able to build a national identity in Russian because their language is their identity, he stressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The politician added that Belarusian national revival will be possible only as a joint effort to set up effective public institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u017aniak noted a weak sense of national identity among the new wave of emigration from Belarus that followed the 2020 political crisis. Moreover, he said, some of those exiled activists \u201cindulge in pro-Russian rhetoric.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An estimated 500,000 people have left the country since 2020, fearing political reprisals and for economic reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: Interior ministry brands Zianon Pa\u017aniak\u2019s initiative as \u201cextremist\u201d group<\/a>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 30, Pozirk. The Belarusian nation’s survival depends on whether it will manage to save the Belarusian language and expand its use, said Zianon Pa\u017aniak, a longtime rival of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka living in exile since 1996. Pa\u017aniak, who now heads the Volnaja Bie\u0142aru\u015b movement, made this statement at a conference in Warsaw yesterday. \u201cWe are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":144547,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-144610","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVeteran opposition leader urges Belarusians to rally around their language | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"June 30, Pozirk. The Belarusian nation's survival depends on whether it will manage to save the Belarusian language and expand its use, said Zianon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/144610\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veteran opposition leader urges Belarusians to rally around their language | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"June 30, Pozirk. 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