The Head of State has underlined that April 26th is a tragic day in the history of Belarus. He commented, “The Chernobyl disaster happened not through our fault. We did not build that station and we did not exploit it. Yet, we were obliged to build a new life for those who were residing in the areas affected by the catastrophe at Chernobyl’s nuclear power station.”
The President noticed that, approximately 15 years ago, he took the decision to rehabilitate suffering territories and, as time has shown, that decision was a wise one. The birth rate in the Slavgorod District, which suffered from the Chernobyl tragedy, is now higher than that of the rest of the Mogilev Region, with new families appearing, and children born. Life goes on.
According to the Head of State, attention is still being given to demographic situation in Belarus, with the state supporting large families. He thanked everyone for having ‘heard’ him 15 years ago, and for having worked to return to a ‘normal’ life.
Mr. Lukashenko laid flowers at the Alley of Memory of Abandoned Villages and chatted to those who worked on cleaning up after the Chernobyl accident. He asserted that support will continue and promised that further development of the Chernobyl-affected regions will be forthcoming.
On the anniversary of this sorrowful day, 26th April, when the accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, the President of Belarus traditionally visits affected regions, talking to people and seeing the work of local enterprises. This year was no exception.
The President received reports on spring sowing, which is now almost complete countrywide, including in the Mogilev Region. He heard about the social and economic development of the Mogilev Region and, in particular, of the Slavgorod Region, including work on social protection for those affected by the catastrophe. The Head of State was told about the fulfilment of his commissions on developing the southeast regions: a new programme is soon to be submitted for adoption. He also met residents of the city and the Slavgorod District.
