"No one will dictate to us whom we honour": Zelenskyy submits National Pantheon bill to parliament

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that on 28 June, Constitution Day, he submitted a draft law to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) on the establishment of a National Pantheon to honour distinguished Ukrainians.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the President's Office, on Telegram; the entry for the draft law on the Verkhovna Rada website

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Today I submitted the law on the Ukrainian National Pantheon to parliament. The names of all the heroes who have fought for Ukraine and inspired Ukraine in different centuries and eras will be united and forever inscribed in our history with a capital letter, with great respect and attention from the state: Ukraine, which respects itself, values its people, and defends what is its own – its right to be Ukrainian. Where no one will ever dictate how we live, how we speak, who we love, who we should be grateful to, or which heroes we should honour."

Details: Kyrylo Budanov also emphasised that no one would ever again dictate to Ukrainians who they should recognise as their heroes.

"No one will ever again dictate to Ukrainians which heroes to honour, which holidays to celebrate or which history to study. Our ancestors fought for hundreds of years for the right to freedom of choice and national independence, and it is for this very cause that our soldiers are shedding blood today. Their memory must live forever," Budanov said.

The draft law defines the legal status of the National Pantheon and its aim: to honour "the most outstanding representatives of the Ukrainian nation, who made an exceptional, historically significant contribution" to the gaining and restoration of Ukraine's independence, Ukraine's development, the formation of the Ukrainian nation, the armed forces, culture and the arts, science, sport, the development of the language, civil society, and religion.

The draft law states that the Pantheon will be a memorial complex that is open to the public and will be located in Kyiv.

The Cabinet of Ministers is designated as responsible for its construction. The project will be developed through an open competitive tender.

In addition, the bill defines six categories of individuals who may be honoured in the Pantheon. These include heads of state or equivalent figures at different times in history, presidents of Ukraine, commanders-in-chief, individuals who made an exceptional contribution to independence or state-building, Nobel Prize winners, and others.

It also sets out categories of individuals who may not be included in the Pantheon, such as those convicted of criminal offences against national security and peace.

The draft law defines how decisions will be made regarding the commemoration of particular individuals and their reburial within the Pantheon, and the creation of a Book of Memory for those honoured in the Pantheon.

The bill also proposes that a guard of honour should be stationed at the Pantheon day and night.

The construction, maintenance and protection of the Pantheon will be funded from the state budget.

According to an explanatory note, the aim of the draft law is to "honour the most outstanding representatives of the Ukrainian nation, shape Ukrainian national and civic identity based on their example, and create the Ukrainian National Pantheon as a nationwide place of remembrance for the Ukrainian people".

The note states: "The adoption of the bill will contribute to restoring historical justice, shaping national memory, and consolidating society around a shared history."

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