What did Belarus newspapers write about ahead of Chernobyl anniversary?
The state-owned newspaper Zvyazda ran a story about a meeting at the House of Representatives when a resolution on the implementation of recommendations following the hearings titled “Chernobyl 20 Years After: Results and Problems” was passed.
“The recommendations target literally all the ministries and agencies, because this is a truly national and even international problem. Therefore, the Council of Ministers has been recommended to come up with proposals for the governments of Russia and Ukraine, seeking to establish an international center for treatment and rehabilitation of citizens who suffered from ionizing radiation”, writes Zvyazda.
Vadzim Papou, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said that every third rubel is directly or indirectly spent on the elimination of the Chernobyl accident consequences. Vital Kulik who chairs the Chernobyl, Ecology and Nature Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Aliaksandr Kosinets spoke out about the major problems the affected areas are faced. They pointed to the lack of professionals and modern machinery in the region.
Journalists from the non-state newspaper Nasha Niva would not forget about the issue of nuclear energy, either. Ahead of the anniversary, the newspaper gave the floor to Zmitser Dashkevich, former political prisoner and the leader of the unregistered youth group Malady Front. Dashkevich described the construction of a nuclear power plant as a strategic priority for Belarus.
“I am convinced that the construction of a nuclear power station is a strategic priority for Belarus. It is not Lukashenka who will yield the results of this project, because the issue of Lukashenka is not the issue of the near historical perspective. It is us who will yield the results”, Zmitser said during a “roundtable meeting” on the planned construction of the nuclear station.
Rumors that Belarus had been exposed to high radiation levels for several days grabbed media attention. Sovietskaya Belorussia and Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belorussii helped to clarify the situation. The newspapers ran stories proving that the radiation level in Minsk is normal.
Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belorussii even pulled Igar Alsheuski, the chief of radiation safety at the Minsk City Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, who together with a reporter and a $2500-worth dosimeter moved around the city in order to make tests. Nowhere in the capital were radiation levels higher than normal.
Apparently, the topic of Chernobyl will continue to make Belarusians feel worried for a long time. Almost a quarter of the country’s population lives in the contaminated areas. The foodstuffs from the contamination zone are sold across the country.
