Lithuanian public gathers signatures against Belarus nuclear power plant

The public in Lithuania has disseminated through the internet a petition calling to sign against the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus, close to the country's capital Vilnius. Over the past two weeks, over 3000 people have endorsed the petition to the country's Ministry of Nature and Environment, reports Belapan. The petition says the operation of the future nuclear power plant will affect environment around Lithuania.

It stresses that the station location (Hrodna Region) is just 23 km off the border and 40 km off the capital city of Vilnius. "In case of an accident, Vilnius will have to be evacuated", stressed the authors of the appeal.

Under the international laws, Lithuania has the right to express its position over Belarus' plans to build a nuclear power plant. However, it cannot block this decision. Nevertheless, Lithuanian NGOs have tried to convince their government to speak out against the Belarus nuclear power plant project.