AMBASSADOR HONORS STALIN VICTIMS AT KURAPATY

UNCLAS MINSK 000922 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BO SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR HONORS STALIN VICTIMS AT KURAPATY ¶1. On November 2, Ambassador, several EU Heads of Mission, and the Israeli Ambassador visited Kurapaty, a wooded area outside Minsk where Stalin's secret police murdered thousands of victims and buried them in mass graves during the 1930s and 1940s. The Heads of Mission held the ceremony in observance of Dziady, a Belarusian holiday honoring ancestors. Ambassador Stewart placed flowers and a candle at the site of a memorial bench presented by President Clinton in 1994. The bench, which symbolizes friendship between the Belarusian and American people and stands in memory of victims of persecution, had been vandalized several times in the past and had been restored prior to the ceremony. ¶2. In response to journalists' questions after the ceremony, Ambassador explained the importance of remembering and openly discussing tragedies like Kurapaty in order to ensure that such atrocities not be repeated. Belarusians held commemorations throughout the week around the country, including an opposition-run commemoration at Kurapaty on October 28. Stewart