Chernobyl Day: MEPs draw attention to the situation in Belarus and ask Lukashenka in an open letter to support Childrens’ programs for an “ecological holiday”. :: Charter'97 :: News

Today nineteen years ago, in the night of 25 to 26 April 1986, the worst catastrophe in nuclear history occurred in the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, Ukraine. After a violent explosion and subsequent fire in atomic reactor no.4, radioactive material was released into the atmosphere. Both the direct damage caused by radiation and the equally significant indirect economic, social, medical and ecological consequences have affected millions of people.Seventy percent of the fall-out came down in Belarus. More than seven million people are still suffering from the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

According to Jan Marinus Wiersma, Mechtild Rothe, Elisabeth Schroedter, and Joseph Muscat, Members of the European Parliament, the international community and especially the European Union share the responsibility to assist these people and to help keep the memory of the accident alive.
"Therefore, on Chernobyl day, we want to commemorate this unprecedented catastrophe in the industrial world given the scale of radioactive polluted land, the levels of contamination and the number of people affected", say the MEPs from the PES and the Greens.

"But", they continue, "at the same time, we want to take the opportunity today to draw attention to the situation in Belarus, the country that was hit hardest by the accident of all European countries.”
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Belarus in February 2005, in which it once again criticised Lukashenka’s repressive regime after the detention of a critical journalist, and called it a ‘dictatorship’. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week voiced similar criticism, condemning Lukashenka in the same terms.

After the disaster, civic initiatives were launched to support the people in the contaminated areas in Belarus. A number of organisations offer children the possibility to leave their home region once a year for a recovery holiday. According to recent reports, the conditions are becoming increasingly restrictive, even though the official government position hasn’t changed. High obstacles seem to be created in order to limit the number of children allowed to leave the country.

In an open letter the MEPs ask Lukashenka to make sure the initiatives receive all necessary cooperation from Belarusian authorities. "Despite all political differences between Belarus and the European Union, we want appeal to the Belarusian government to make sure the civic initiatives can continue, to the benefit of the people and the children of Belarus. We are convinced that they will help the people of Belarus improve their situation", conclude Mr. Wiersma, Ms. Rothe, Ms. Schroedter and Mr Muscat.

In order to find out what action has been taken by the European Union to support these civic initiatives, the MEPs will also submit a written question to the European Commission.