young白俄罗斯

InBelarus,thenationthatmostsufferedfromtheChernobylnucleardisaster,

officialsrecentlysignedadealfortheirfirstnuclearpowerplantfromRussia.

DespitetheauthoritariangovernmentinMinsk,popularprotestisbubbling.

AfteranexplosionandfireattheChernobylnuclearcomplex,inwhatthenwastheSoviet

republicofUkraine,onthenightofApril25,1986,anortherlywindcontaminatedalmost

one-thirdoftheterritorythatnowisBelarus.

Withthe25thanniversaryofthedisasterfastapproaching,painfulmemoriesareflooding

backasBelarusianswatchJapanefirefighterstrytocontrolfiresandcontaminationat

hboringUkraine,anewspaperheadlinedwhat

manypeoplethought-theJapaneChernobyl”

Russia'snuclearpush

nPrimeMinisterVladimirPutinflewintoMinskonMarch

15andoversawthesigningofa$9.4-billionnuclearpowerplantcomplex-thefirst

nuclearreactorsforBelarus.

TatianaNovikovahelpstoruntheBelarusianAnti-Nuclearcampaignandshecallsthe

powerplantdealaprovocationtoapeoplewhosufferedtheconquencesofChernobyl.

aceofbadnews

fromJapan,h15,heoffered

a$March16,he

metinMoscowwithTurkey’svisitingprimeminister,RecepTayyipErdogan,and

re-confirmedTurkey’splantobuyRussianreactors.

ToensurethatMinskstartsconstructionontimeinSeptember,Russiaixtendingto

Belarusa$6-billionloan.

VladimirSlivyakrunsEco-Zashita,ngfromMoscow,hesaid

Russia’snuclearpowerindustryiscrippledbycrecyandcorruption."Thepolicyof

Russiangovernmentonconstructionofnewnuclearreactorsiscompletelywrong,andthe

levelofnuclearsafetyatnuclearplantsthatarealreadyoperatingisatawaylowlevel."

Russiacurrentlyproducesabout16percentofitlectricityfrom32nuclearpowerplants.

Overthenextdecade,thegovernmentplanstobuildanother11reactors,raisingthe

nuclearportionofRussia’lectricityproductionto25percent.

Anti-nuclearmovementgainsmomentum

AsinBelarus,Japan’saccidenthanergizedRussia’k,

whowebaddressis:,said"Wehavebeenway,waylucky,sofar,that

wedidnothaveanaccidentlikeinJapan."

InMinsk,Russianreactorsare

nows

said,"’retalkingabout

completelynewtechnologies."

HisBelaruscounterpart,PrimeMinisterMikhailMyasnikovich,agreed,saying,"Belarus

sueispecially

wthatApril25willmark25yearssincetheChernobyldisaster,

andsothisisamomentouventforusagainstthebackgroundofthisandthelatest

developmentsinJapan."

PutinaddedthatBelarusisnotinanearthquakezone.

Butanactivistgroupcallingitlf"ScientistsforaNuclear-freeBelarus"haswrittenan

openlettertoBelarusPresidentAlexanderLukashenko,sayingthatin1909,an

earthquakeasstrongastheonerecordedinJapanlastweekwasrecordedintheareaof

Belaruslectedforthetworeactors.

Belarusnuclearcomplex

TheBelarusnuclearcomplexistobeconstructedonthenorthernedgeofthecountry,20

nianofficialsareaskingwhyBelarus,acountryalmost

thesizeofBritain,islocatingthenation’sonlynuclearpowerplant45kilometerastof

Vilnius,Lithuania’scapital.

Relationsarealreadychillybetweenthetwoneighbors-oneademocracy,theotherruled

cember,whenanindependent

exitpollindicatedthatLukashenkowasnotgoingtowinthefirstroundofpresidential

elections,herespondedbylockingupvenoftheopposingcandidates.

Novikovadescribeshowcontrolsaretighteningonanti-nuclearactivistsinBelarus.

Publicntimentoppod

ShechargespolicestagedatrafficaccidentinanefforttojailNicholasUlavich,the

nfrontedby

ananti-nuclearreactorpetitionsignedby3,000localresidents,Novikovasaidpolice

respondedbyinvestigatingeachsigner.

Lastyear,aBelarusiantalkshow,Choice,askedTVviewersiftheythinkmodernnuclear

-venpercentofrespondentssaidno.

Inthecurrentatmosphere,itisunlikelytherewillbeanysimilarshowsoononBelarus

state-runTV.

Indeed,arecentlyreleadmovie,InnocentSaturday,wassuddenlypulledfromtheaters

’sfirstfilmabouttheChernobyldisaster,themovierevolvesarounda

youngCommunistPartyofficialwhohearsofthenuclearaccidentonSaturdaynight,April

tmorning,heisoneofthefirsttoarriveattheburningpowerplantandwitness

rnatives,Minskmovietheatersofferachoiceofathrilleror

anactionfilm,bothfantasies.