Belarusian Authorities Sanction Chornobyl Anniversary March
April 19, 2006
Visitors at the Chornobyl Museum in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, pass the nameplates of towns and villages deserted after the explosion (file photo) (epa)
The annual April 26 march is to commemorate the Belarusian victims of the world's worst nuclear disaster. But it has traditionally also been a forum of protest against the the policies of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
City officials insisted marchers take a route away from the city center for the event. Opposition activists had intended to march from Minsk's central October Square along the main boulevard, but agreed to the proposed route to avoid a confrontation with the authorities.
October Square was the scene of protests against Lukashenka's reelection last month, which the opposition and Western governments denounced as fraudulent.
(Reuters)