The head of the region took part in a dialogue platform to discuss the draft amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
Setting the audience for a constructive and interested discussion of the draft Constitution, Alexander Subbotin outlined three main blocks of changes to this document, which will improve the basis of the Basic Law, by which the country has lived for the past decades. This is the need to constitutionally reformat and redistribute powers between different branches of government in accordance with modern challenges. This is the desire to increase the personal responsibility of citizens for their development and well-being, along with the preservation of social guarantees from the state. The necessity to enshrine in the Constitution norms on the protection and preservation of historical memory of the feat of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War, traditional Christian values, has become forced, because they are trying to take away, diminish, and distort our victory. In the course of the ongoing processes to achieve the supremacy of democracy and gender equality in foreign countries, as Alexander Mikhailovich noted, many things acquire completely absurd norms, so the proposed measures are not perceived as excessive.
An interested discussion took place on all these and other issues. For example, a proposal was made to give the norm on preserving historical memory a broader interpretation, as many heroic moments are associated not only with the past war, but also with the restoration of the national economy, breakthrough achievements in various fields, and patriotic manifestations in peaceful life. This should ultimately become a guarantee of national consolidation.
Alexander Dedinkin made an excursion into the history of constitutional development starting from the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and explained what caused today's glob
constitutional adjustment of the Basic Law. In essence, it is about the need to adopt a new Constitution. In his opinion, this is dictated by a significant change in today's world order and a rapidly changing geopolitical situation. For example, the country can no longer maintain the neutrality prescribed in the current Constitution, as we are unable to protect our sovereignty alone. Nevertheless, the proposed draft contains a provision that the Republic of Belarus is a peace-loving state that excludes aggression from its territory against other states.
In the audience, where representatives of the medical community gathered, the norm of Article 45 of the draft Constitution, which imposes on citizens the duty to take measures to preserve and strengthen their health, aroused particular interest. Many are already wondering if this will then lead to some reduction in the scope of free medical care for those who ignore the norms of a healthy lifestyle. And is it possible to introduce a certain mechanism for monitoring the implementation of this duty?
-- The very word "control" already grates on the ear, -- Alexander Subbotin answered. – It is more reasonable to introduce incentive measures for citizens to comply with this norm, to form such behavior through education, because health is a significant part of the state's stability. During the work of the dialogue platform, many other innovations and additions to the Basic Law were discussed – from the consolidation of the state's responsibility for the safety of peaceful atom to the powers and place in the system of state structure of the new representative body – the All-Belarusian People's Assembly.