Medvedev in nuclear plea on Chernobyl anniversary
Source: Agencies |
April 27, 2011, Wednesday
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RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday called on the international community to work out unified guidelines to prevent accidents such as the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago while continuing to develop nuclear energy.
Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych spoke at a memorial ceremony outside Chernobyl's No. 4 nuclear reactor that exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia.
"It's of utmost importance that we understand what kind of force humankind is dealing with so that our solutions ... meet the challenges of nuclear energy," Medvedev said. He said he had invited world leaders to take part in developing a set of rules for safer nuclear energy.
Medvedev and Yanukovych took part in a religious service near the Chernobyl plant, laid the first stone of a monument to cleanup workers and laid red roses at another monument to victims.
"The consequences of the accident have been huge, but if it hadn't been for the work of the 'liquidators,' the work of the firefighters, the rescuers and doctors these consequences would have been global. We must remember that," Medvedev said.
Yanukovych said nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl and at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant affected the whole planet and he renewed calls for money to build a new, safer shelter over the damaged reactor. Ukraine must still raise some US$300 million to cover up the plant.
The Chernobyl explosion released about 400 times more radiation than the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Hundreds of thousands were sickened and once-pristine forests and farmland still remain contaminated.
The United Nations' World Health Organization said last week that among the 600,000 people most heavily exposed to the radiation, 4,000 more cancer deaths than average are expected to be eventually found.
But besides the physical damage, Chernobyl has left a deep psychological wound in the hearts of many Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians because of the Soviet government's disregard for their safety and lives.
Soviet leaders waited for days to inform the people of the accident, instruct them how to reduce health risks and evacuate them from contaminated areas.
Medvedev called that a major mistake.
"The duty of the government is to tell its people the truth. One must admit that the government did not always behave in the right way," he said.
Artur Tverdokhlebov, 80, a retired subway worker, joined some 3,000 Chernobyl victims at a memorial service commemorating the accident at a monument in Kiev.
"Chernobyl is an open wound in the soul of our people," said Tverdokhlebov, who was rushed to clean up the aftermath of Chernobyl in May 1986. "The authorities kept secret what had really happened, nobody told us anything about the danger and we ate the fish that we caught in the river."
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko did not take part in memorial events in Ukraine. His office said Lukashenko had no plans to come to Ukraine as he would be paying his respects in Belarusian villages contaminated by the disaster.
Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych spoke at a memorial ceremony outside Chernobyl's No. 4 nuclear reactor that exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia.
"It's of utmost importance that we understand what kind of force humankind is dealing with so that our solutions ... meet the challenges of nuclear energy," Medvedev said. He said he had invited world leaders to take part in developing a set of rules for safer nuclear energy.
Medvedev and Yanukovych took part in a religious service near the Chernobyl plant, laid the first stone of a monument to cleanup workers and laid red roses at another monument to victims.
"The consequences of the accident have been huge, but if it hadn't been for the work of the 'liquidators,' the work of the firefighters, the rescuers and doctors these consequences would have been global. We must remember that," Medvedev said.
Yanukovych said nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl and at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant affected the whole planet and he renewed calls for money to build a new, safer shelter over the damaged reactor. Ukraine must still raise some US$300 million to cover up the plant.
The Chernobyl explosion released about 400 times more radiation than the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Hundreds of thousands were sickened and once-pristine forests and farmland still remain contaminated.
The United Nations' World Health Organization said last week that among the 600,000 people most heavily exposed to the radiation, 4,000 more cancer deaths than average are expected to be eventually found.
But besides the physical damage, Chernobyl has left a deep psychological wound in the hearts of many Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians because of the Soviet government's disregard for their safety and lives.
Soviet leaders waited for days to inform the people of the accident, instruct them how to reduce health risks and evacuate them from contaminated areas.
Medvedev called that a major mistake.
"The duty of the government is to tell its people the truth. One must admit that the government did not always behave in the right way," he said.
Artur Tverdokhlebov, 80, a retired subway worker, joined some 3,000 Chernobyl victims at a memorial service commemorating the accident at a monument in Kiev.
"Chernobyl is an open wound in the soul of our people," said Tverdokhlebov, who was rushed to clean up the aftermath of Chernobyl in May 1986. "The authorities kept secret what had really happened, nobody told us anything about the danger and we ate the fish that we caught in the river."
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko did not take part in memorial events in Ukraine. His office said Lukashenko had no plans to come to Ukraine as he would be paying his respects in Belarusian villages contaminated by the disaster.
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