Фото: tsikhanouskaya.org
On the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed Belarusians, shared personal memories and recalled the danger of the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant and the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus.
“When Chernobyl happened, I was only three years old. I do not remember the explosion itself, but I remember how its long shadow lived alongside us later.
My native Mikashevichy was also in the zone of radioactive contamination. Doctors often came to our school. They checked the thyroid gland in particular. Iodine became almost a familiar thing, something that simply had to be there. We still carry within us the trace of the fact that many Belarusians were born on land contaminated by radiation”, the leader of the democratic forces said.
She recalled that Belarus bore the brunt of the disaster, with up to 70% of radioactive fallout falling on its territory.
“But people were wounded not only by radiation. People were wounded by silence. By concealment. When Soviet ‘stability’ and May Day parades were more important than people’s health and lives”, the politician said.
She called for Chernobyl to be remembered so that such a situation would not happen again, and recalled the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, calling it a threat to the Belarusian people and the country’s independence.
“The current authorities in Belarus are behaving exactly the same way as the Soviet authorities did during Chernobyl. The Astravets Nuclear Power Plant was built without proper international oversight, and when incidents occurred there, they tried to conceal them in exactly the same way, as if nothing had happened.
The authorities have gone further and are now deploying Russian nuclear weapons on our territory. This turns Belarus into a target and makes Belarusians hostages to Russia’s imperial ambitions. In this way, Russia is trying to cement its control over Belarus, blackmail and threaten its neighbours. Because Russian nuclear weapons are not about security at all. They are a threat both to our people and to our independence”, Tsikhanouskaya stressed.
“Yes, Chernobyl showed where the irresponsibility of the authorities leads. But it also showed the strength of solidarity. And on this day I think of our wonderful people. Not only of those who suffered. But also of those who helped. Chernobyl showed how much human warmth there is in the world. Displaced people were supported by relatives and friends. Tens of thousands of Belarusian children were hosted by families in Europe, America and Canada for recuperation. For many, this was their first experience that the world can be kind and open, and that even behind a foreign language you can see someone’s big heart. We remember Chernobyl. We remember every man and every woman. And we will do everything so that the mistakes of the past are never repeated”, she concluded.