Milinkevich participates in conference on Chernobyl-related problems in Mazyr :: Charter'97 :: News

Alyaksandr Milinkevich, chairman of the political council of united opposition forces, on April 22 took part in a conference on problems caused by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, which was held in Mazyr, Homyel region, on April 22.

Mazyr was one of the destinations of the former presidential candidate’s tour of Chernobyl-affected areas on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the accident.

As. Milinkevich told BelaPAN, the main objective of his trip was to draw the attention of the Belarusian and international public to health problems in radioactively contaminated areas and the production of farming products that do not meet standards for radionuclide contents.

“The main thing that we should attend to is real assistance to the people who have lived for more than 20 years now in the conditions of radiation,” Mr. Milinkevich said. “There are simple things that we can do without the participation of authorities. For instance, we should tell people the truth about radiation, supply the population with the necessary equipment for health examinations, and arrange the recuperation of children abroad. People should have the opportunity to know how to live in contaminated areas and what safety measures they should take. We know how to help and we’ll do this.”

Halina Skarakhod, deputy head of the non-governmental Local Development Assistance Foundation who was one of the organizers of the Mazyr conference, said that the meeting focused on three aspects of the Chernobyl problem – medical, environmental and legal. In the framework of the conference, legal experts provided advice to local residents on how to defend their rights using regulations currently in force.

“The government plans to enact a new social protection law whereby the veterans of Chernobyl cleanup operations would be deprived of their benefits,” Ms. Skarakhod noted.

Mr. Milinkevich was scheduled to visit Brahin, Khoyniki and Homyel on April 23.