CHERNOBYL SHLYACH-2002 :: Charter'97 :: News

Around three thousand took part in the traditional opposition action “Chernobyl Shlyach”, marking the 16th anniversary since the Chernobyl explosion. A meeting and a mourning procession were of exclusively peaceful character. (photos here).

The “Chernobyl Shlyach-2002” started in Minsk at the Academy of Sciences at 5.30p.m. The action participants unfurled banners “Chernobyl is our common pain”, “Belarus into Europe”, “Occupation, Chernobyl, Lukashenko – one grief” and other. Activists of the Moscow-based Anti-fascist youth movement raised a banner: “No to the union with Lukashenko’s dictatorship!”. The protesters held national white-red-white flags, many wore black T-shirts with the signs of radioactive contamination, they had mourning ribbons and march’s logos around their heads.

ZUBRs stood in a separate group of 150, clutching in their hands a huge banner “Freedom to the political prisoners!”. ZUBRs protested against the arrest of the Protest March’s participants on April 19 in Minsk. At present, a few dozen PM dissenters are still held in the special pre-trial detention center in the Okrestina str., including the organizers – Dmitry Bondarenko, Nikolai Khalezin, Yuri Khaschevatsky and Valery Schukin.

There, at the Academy of Sciences they staged a meeting, at which the floor was given to the opposition’s activists – leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front Vintsuk Vyachorka and Yuri Khodyko, member of the Charter’97 organizing committee Ludmila Gryaznova, activists of the Anti-fascist youth movement, Chernobyl breakdown’s liquidators. The meeting’s over, the action’s organizers – the “CS-2002” organizing committee, called on the people to proceed along the sanctioned official route to the Bangalor reservation in order to avoid clashes with police.

ZUBR activists didn’t consent to this scenario, saying that they would not commemorate the memory of the Chernobyl victims somewhere in the outskirts. “ZUBRs don’t go to the swamp!” – declared the movement’s members, having determined to put candles in the church instead.

Other dissenters lined up into one column, which occupied two central lanes of the thoroughfare, and moved out in the direction of the Surganova street and further into the Bangalor square. Their movement was accompanied by bells’ ringing. The procession attracted representatives of various political parties: BPF, UCP, Party of Freedom, Youth Front, Belarusian Social-Democrats, Free Trade Unions etc. Police undertook no other actions, except controlling the traffic along their way. The public order was ensured by deputy head of the Minsk city hall police Sergei Solonets.

At the intersection between the Surganova and Kuibysheva streets the marchers suddenly halted their movement. Right there, they held a mourning prayer in the memory of the Chernobyl victims. Priest of the Belarusian Autocephalous church Leonid Akalovich read out the prayer and called on the Shlyach participants to put down their flags. Standing with burning candles in hands, the people honored those, who fell victim to the dreadful tragedy.

After the mourning event ended, the organizers called on the people to leave home.