Parliamentary hearings to fuel international interest to Chernobyl issues

Today the Oval Hall of the House of Government has become a venue of parliamentary hearings “Chernobyl 20 Years Later: Results and Problems”. The hearings are conceived to attract additional attention of the international community to the Chernobyl issues. Calling on cooperation, we are not just sitting around waiting for help, but are ready to cooperate on mutually-beneficial terms, speaker of the Chamber of Representatives Vladimir Konoplev said at the official opening of the parliamentary hearings. The speaker has reminded that almost one fourth of Belarus was polluted in the aftermath of the tragedy and every fifth Belarusian fell a victim to the radiation impact. The aggregate damage amounted to 32 annual budgets of Belarus of 1985. While the world was disputing about the reasons of the catastrophe, Belarus had to mitigate its gravest consequences alone spending colossal money and applying strenuous efforts. “We held out. We managed to hold out as the state put the task to ensure the interests of the people in the affected regions to the forefront”, the MP said. These parliamentary hearings are expected to focus on the urgent issues of the polluted areas where over 1,3 million Belarusians live who should have confidence in the future. This is the core of the state strategy of socio-economic rehabilitation of the affected territories, Vladimir Konoplev stressed. The priority tasks include ensuring legal, social and medical support to people there, creation of employment opportunities and invigorating competitive output, the chairman of the Chamber of Representatives stated.