BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/12/2008

Belarus lifts travel ban on Chernobyl children

Belarus has lifted a travel ban on a number of children living near Chernobyl's failed nuclear plant so they can spend the Christmas holidays in the Netherlands. The country's autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko had banned their trip fearing the children could apply for asylum or would be brainwashed with democratic ideas. Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen says he is delighted that diplomatic pressure from the European Union has worked. It is not clear how many children will come as many parents have canceled their travel arrangements. The 1986 explosion of one of the plant's four reactors exposed countless people to high radiation levels. Every year, several European countries invite 30,000 children from the area for a vacation.

Source:

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/zijlijn/6103409/Belarus-lifts-travel-ban-on-Chernobyl-children

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