Initiated by President Islam Karimov, the 9th of May is widely celebrated in Uzbekistan as the Day of Memory and Reverence, as a national holiday.
Remembrance about human being is sacred, and the human honor and dignity is dear. The essence and significance of the Day of Memory and Reverence marked extensively at the initiative of the head of our state are permeated with these humanistic principles.
This remarkable date constitutes a good tradition whereby our people honor the memory of millions of our compatriots who fell in the war, and we display high respect and convey reverence to the living veterans who made their input into securing the peace and prosperity of the Motherland.
These days we inadvertently think of the heavy losses, hardships and miseries that had to be endured to secure the current peaceful and harmonious life, the clear sky above us, the abundance and prosperity. We even deeper realize the significance of independence, peace and tranquility.
The 18 April 2014 decree of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to support the participants of the Second World War has been another bright manifestation of the reverence toward the memory of our compatriots who fell in the war, of respect toward our fathers and grandfathers who returned from the battlefield, toward our mothers who proved persevering vis-à-vis all the thorniest hardships of those years. In line with that decree, participants and the disabled of the war were rewarded – in festive circumstances – with money awards and holiday gifts. Officials of governmental and social organizations visited them to provide them with material and moral support.
On May 9, the metropolitan Memory Square is crowded as never before. Veterans of war and labor, senators and lower house members, government officials, military servicemen and the wider public came here to pay tribute to the sacrosanct date.
Tender music aired above the square.
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov arrived here to take part in the occasion.
Under the sounds of military orchestra, the head of our state laid a wreath to the monument of the Mourning Mother.
The President of the country honored the memory of our fellow countrymen and women who sacrificed their lives at the Second World War.
“Today, our nation, the entire people of Uzbekistan widely celebrates the splendid date – the Day of Memory and Reverence, the 69th anniversary of the Victory over fascism,” Islam Karimov said at an aftermath conversation with representatives of mass media. “These days, we all pay homage to the memory and remember those who fell at the battlefield in the name of this current peaceful life.
“I express my sincere respect to those living, dear and revered aksakals and mothers, those who took part in the war, as well as to all our compatriots who made their own contribution to the Victory with their selfless labor and effort in the home front, and I wish them on behalf of all our people and myself a sound health and a long life,” the President said.
Comprehensive support for our veterans, thanks to who the wellbeing and affluence reign in our homes, creation of everything necessary for them to live in dignity, display of attention and care for them is our human duty.
Nearly 70 years have passed since the end of the bloodiest and most terrible war in the history of the human race, a war that brought about colossal misery and losses, pain and grievance over deprivation. There is scarcely a family in our country that was left aside of the flame of those brutal years.
“I believe we should refer to statistics time and again, constantly keep them in memory to remind our children, the younger generation, about them,” the head of our state stressed.
From about 6.5 million people residing in Uzbekistan prior to the war, more than 1.5 million left for the battlefield. Put it in other words, around a third of our population then participated in the hostilities with arms and shed their blood.
Some 500 thousand of our compatriots died in that horrific war, while thousands more went missing and many more returned home maimed.
These figures are indicative of the fact how tremendous was the contribution our people made to the triumph over fascism. No one should ever forget about that.
“Talking about this, we can be infinitely proud of the selflessness, courage and nobility of our nation who proved firm in overcoming all the miseries and hardships of wartime, who labored in the home front, who shared their roof and the last remaining slice of bread with people evacuated to Uzbekistan, with the thousands of orphans who had lost their parents. It is these kinds of thorniest years that the spiritual might of our people is brilliantly manifest, its brightest human qualities like kindness, compassion, generosity and magnanimity are evident,”Uzbekistan’s leader pointed out.
Therefore, in order to perpetuate the memory of the fallen and those who did not return from the war, their names are inscribed with gold letters at memory squares established in the capital city of our Motherland and those across the regions, and 16 years ago we announced the 9th of May as the Day of Memory and Reverence, and today the life itself confirms time and again how correct that decision was.
Years will pass, but what is never going to be forgotten is the perpetuation of noble endeavors undertaken by us in the spirit of times and in the name of such gracious ends as the glorification of humanism and the finest of human qualities, reverence toward and preservation of the bright memory of those who served their Motherland with self-sacrifice.
The President of Uzbekistan pointed to the need to be always vigilant and attentive which is imperative in preventing such tragedies and evil.
Unfortunate as it is, confrontation and conflicts have been intensifying in various corners of the world and around us.
What we cannot but be concerned about is the fact that bloodshed is taking place in some regions, conflicts and enmity are intensifying, fascism is letting itself known again, while such menacing threats as nationalism and chauvinism are gaining ground in the political arena – in a word, the challenges and threats to peace and stability have been gaining in strength.
Without any doubt, every person currently observing so dangerous a situation unfolding around the world, including such developments in the post-Soviet space, wishes that yesterday’s friends not become enemies, while the emergent confrontation not grow into a war.
In such intricate and tense circumstances, we stand for an unconditional compliance with the major principles stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations and international law norms; our stance is with the exclusion of violence and the use of force.
It is essential to address the emerging confrontations and conflicts of interests with political and peaceful means only, and rule out the threat to the political sovereignty of countries and the inviolability of their borders.
This is our firm stance, President Islam Karimov asserted.
All the peoples of the world desire one thing, namely, that the war never and in any form repeats itself. Such aspiration and goal is geared to the interests of all the peoples around the world. After all, no people on the planet desires for war. Our close neighbor, the people of Afghanistan, also longs for a peaceful life.
We wish for peace and stability in the neighboring Afghanistan. Uzbekistan advances its cooperation with that country on a bilateral basis.
“I deem it necessary here to put it one again,” Islam Karimov said, “that our people need peace and tranquility. Our nation that has experienced much throughout its history, understands pretty well that only in a country that enjoys peace and harmony, benevolence and mutual respect, can prosperity be achieved, can an affluent and happy life be built, can the kindest and noblest ends and aspirations be furthered.”
The times we are living demand that we always be vigilant and attentive, safeguard our peaceful life as the apple of the eye. We ought to persistently struggle for peace and a tranquil life.
“I am convinced that we should look back and come up with a detached assessment of the life path we have made, the one that has been characterized with hardships. We have passed an enormous school of life, the one that we had barely known before. Today, along with the growing quality of living standards of the people, our compatriots are transforming noticeably, and so is their world outlook, mindset, their political and social activity, realization of the meaning of life,” the President suggested. “In other words, our contemporary compatriots differ cardinally from the generation of the 1990s.”
Expounding on this subject matter, it is noteworthy that notwithstanding the tests and difficulties that we have had to overcome in the past years, we have never forgotten that we are a people with a high sense of pride, honor and dignity; we have not become oblivious to our history and to the fact as to whose posterity we are. And to further the gracious goals we set for ourselves, we have made and will make the best of our efforts to be always ready to protect our people from whatsoever threats and challenges.
Owing to our noble and incomparable people, Uzbekistan has been advancing, along with a handful of countries across the world, with high and steady rates; the standards and quality of life of our people has been persistently growing, and our land is coming to be ever prosperous and a more comfortable place to live. In a word, we have been making remarkable accomplishments admired by many and living with firm confidence in our future days.
We see the principal factor in the achievement of our great future and our splendid objectives in our youth not inferior to anyone in anything, the generation that is full with youthful ardor and energy, thirst for knowledge, Islam Karimov said.
The announcement of the current year as the one of the Health of the Child will indisputably boost the wide-ranging efforts undertaken by us up to a qualitatively new level and will yield its remarkable outcomes.
“I came to believe in the practical realization of these aspirations of ours during the recent trip to Karakalpakstan, during conversations with people working at one of the most impressive construction sites – the Surgil Gas Chemical Complex.
“Working in the construction of that unique four-billion-dollar complex that is unprecedented in the world, specialists from South Korea, who have been to many countries prior to their current assignment, referred to our youths with admiration.
“I cannot forget especially the words of a South Korean manager. He told me that they had taken part in the construction of many facilities in various countries, but they had never seen such a goal-minded, intellectually advanced and initiative-inclined youth as that in Uzbekistan. He said he admired the pace with which the Uzbek youths grasp the most intricate machinery and technologies.
“I think such an acknowledgement boosts in all us the sense of profound pride.
“Indeed, if we look at our youths – a backbone and hope of our future days and who are assuming a growingly decisive role – our belief that we will definitely achieve all our high ends, noble goals, hopes and aspirations gets cemented to an even greater extent.
“We ask for peace and harmony from the Lord in the Highest, and we ask Him to protect our nation from misfortunes and disasters.
“In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my congratulations to our esteemed veterans and all the people of Uzbekistan on today’s glorious holiday, and wish a sound health, long life, abundance and wellbeing to your homes,” President Islam Karimov said.
The monument of the Mourning Mother got loaded with flowers that day long. Through to the late hours of the day, the Memory Square continued to be packed with people willing to pay homage to compatriots who sacrificed their lives for the peace and freedom of the native land and the bright future of posterity.
