Adoption of Declaration on State Sovereignty was not easy - President

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reminded of the heated discussions which accompanied the process of adoption of the Declaration on State Sovereignty in 1990, Kazinform News Agency reports.

He said the adoption of the Declaration was not easy. “The country’s ethno-demographic structure was complicated. The discussions in the Supreme Council – the parliament of that time – were long and heated. Each article and each word in the document had to be defended and justified. As Alikhan Bokeikhan [leader of the Alash movement - edit] said, the path to freedom is in the unity of a nation. And political leaders of the country demonstrated faithfulness to this advice,” the President said ahead of the awards ceremony in Akorda.

Having united in a critical moment, they could defend the national interests, he added.

“The landmark document complied with the aspirations and expectations of the nation and was adopted thanks to wisdom and judiciousness of the country’s patriots. Their bravery and decisiveness demonstrated in a critical hour can be evaluated as a true heroism,” Tokayev noted.