September 19, Pozirk. The day will come when the white-red-white flag flies over free Belarus again, opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has said on the 33rd anniversary of the flag and Pahonia coat of arms becoming official state symbols of Belarus.
National symbols “represent the long journey of Belarusians to freedom and independence, their aspiration for justice and the right to determine the own destiny,” the politician noted on Telegram.
Alaksandar Łukašenka held a controversial referendum in 1995 to replace the white-red-white flag and Pahonia with resigned Soviet-styled state symbols.
Following the widespread use of the white-red-white flag by protesters in 2020, authorities in Minsk labelled it extremist and fascist, prosecuting Belarusians for displaying and possessing it and even wearing white-red combinations of clothes.
