BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/04/2009

Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians mark Chernobyl

Associated Press

Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians marked the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster Sunday with commemorations of those who died and complaints about plans to build new atomic energy stations.

The explosion of a reactor at the plant in then-Soviet Ukraine spread radiation over much of Europe, forcing evacuation of swaths of countryside. Thirty-one people died of radiation illnesses in the first two months after the blast, and there is debate over how many eventually will fall victim. Concern is particularly high for the workers sent in to clean up after the blast.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko laid a wreath Sunday at the monument to Chernobyl workers. In Moscow, hundreds of people laid flowers at the graves of Chernobyl firefighters.

"Today, we are gratefully honoring the dead and those who continue to work in the exclusion zone," Yushchenko said, referring to the area around the plant still off-limits to the public because of radiation. The plant is out of service and work is under way to replace the crumbling concrete shelter that surrounds the exploded reactor.

Some who came to the Kiev monument Sunday complained about inadequate compensation and treatment for those who fell ill after taking part in the cleanup.

"I lost many colleagues due to the disaster and many of them became disabled. But what strikes me more is not the effects of the disaster, but the attitude of the state, whose slogan is: the fewer pensioners, the better for the state," said Sergey Borisov, a former plant worker.

In Belarus, about 2,000 demonstrators protested plans to build a nuclear power plant in that country. The start of construction of Belarus' first nuclear plant has been postponed several times, but is expected to begin this year.

Belarus lies just to the north of Chernobyl and it was hit hard by the disaster. About one-fifth its area was evacuated and health officials say about 20 percent of the country's 10 million people suffer from radiation-linked ailments, including thyroid and circulation problems.

Despite concerns about radiation, Belarusian officials have taken many parts of the evacuation zone off the list of excluded areas and residents have been urged to move back.

In 1986, "Belarusians couldn't be protected because authorities hid the truth _ and today's authorities in Belarus are doing the same thing," said Viktor Ivashkevich, one of the protest organizers.

Source:

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=931490&lang=eng_news

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