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Commemorating the Chornobyl DisasterPeople in Ukraine, Belarus, and other countries on 26 April commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. In the early hours of 26 April 1986, a massive chemical explosion blew the 1,000-ton cover off the top of Chornobyl's Unit Four reactor, spewing radiation over Ukraine, Belarus, and northern Europe. Millions of people were affected by the disaster north of Kyiv.Ukraine and Belarus, the most affected countries, still wrangle with dire consequences of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. Though the world's worst civil nuclear accident happened in Ukraine, its biggest victim was arguably neighboring Belarus. Given the prevailing winds, some 70 percent of Chornobyl's radioactive fallout landed on Belarus, contaminating one-third of its territory. One and a half million people - including 420,000 children - were located in the polluted area. Valery Karbalevich of Strategy, a political-analysis center in Minsk, says the anniversary of the disaster is becoming routine: President Alyaksandr Lukashenka visits the affected regions, while the opposition remembers the disaster and uses the occasion to criticize the government. "Today [26 April], the opposition invited people to go to the building of the presidential administration and leave petitions with proposals and demands there. After that, people are invited to gather in another location on the outskirts of the town where a mourning celebration is due to take place," Karbalevich says. The Chornobyl anniversary has taken on great political significance in Belarus. Because the disaster was covered up for days after it happened, it came to be seen as a symbol of Soviet mendacity, and later became a traditional day for rallies by the opposition. On 26 April, however, the Belarusian opposition will not demonstrate - a fact Karbalevich says indicates that the memory of the public disaster is slowly fading. However, Karbalevich says the tragedy remains a huge economic, social, political, and ethic problem for Belarus. "The problem is not gone, it remains," Karbalevich says. "All negative consequences have not disappeared. It is possible to say that the problems are growing but the public is paying less attention to it. The state also is paying less attention." Karbalevich says that recently, the government floated the idea of building a nuclear plant to become more independent from Russian gas supplies. This kind of discussion was impossible several years ago. Source: RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report, April 26, 2005. This article appeared in Belarusian Review, Vol. 17, No.2 --------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 Belarusian Review All rights reserved. belarusianreview@hotmail.com Valentinas Mite
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