February 4 marks the 275th anniversary of Tadeusz Kosciuszko's birth. The Committees on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas of the Republic of Poland and the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania jointly adopted a resolution commemorating this outstanding figure.

POSITION

Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland

dated February 4, 2021.

Joint Declaration
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas of the Republic of Poland and the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on the 275th Anniversary of the Birth of Tadeusz Kosciuszko

We, the parliamentarians of the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania, together recall the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko on the 275th anniversary of his birth.

Tadeusz Kościuszko was born on February 4, 1746, in Polesie, in the historic Grand Duchy of Lithuania, now within the borders of the Belarusian state, whose independence is extremely important to us. Kościuszko was an outstanding son of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a brave defender of its freedom and rights, and a hero of the American War of Independence. He cherished the ideals of liberty, fraternity, social justice and equality before the law. He expressed it by buying out slaves in America and enfranchising peasants in his estate.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko is part of the common legacy of all the peoples of the historic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the democratic traditions of the United States, our shared ideals of freedom and independence, and the inalienable rights of our citizens to live with dignity and freedom.

We, the representatives of our peoples, freely elected
and democratic, we address words of solidarity to the people of Belarus, who are demanding democratic change in the country following the successive rigged elections on August 9, organized by the illegitimate Lukashenko regime. We stand in solidarity with the Belarusian people, who have been and continue to be persecuted for insisting on their right to fundamental civil liberties, including above all free and fair elections, as soon as possible this year. We send special words to all those who have been thrown into prisons and are under arrest or detention for their courageous stand. We also support their families and loved ones. We remember those murdered in their struggle for a life of dignity.

We remember Tadeusz Kościuszko, who symbolizes the idea of uniting nations around important issues such as freedom and independence, and respect for national identity. We remember him because we feel heirs to his legacy and know that he is extremely important to many Belarusians.

We recognize the efforts of our governments to assist persecuted Belarusians who have been forced to abandon their homeland and we encourage the search for new and increasingly effective forms of support for the Belarusian people in their struggle for the democratic shape of their own state, whose freedom and independence we consider fundamentally important not only for our regional stability and development, but also for the security of Europe and the transatlantic world.

Let this day always remind us of our common past, which obliges us to mutual solidarity, to support the aspirations for national independence and freedom of nations, and to respect human and civil rights.

We are and will remain in solidarity with Belarus.