Over 2,000 people laid flowers at the memorials Chernobyl Victims and Hiroshima Peace Stone in the Minsk Park of Peoples' Friendship to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl accident on 26 April, BelTA has leaned.
Wreaths and flowers were laid by representatives of government bodies, diplomatic missions, religious denominations, public organizations, youth and labor collectives.
Addressing the ceremony, Belarus Interior Minister Igor Shunevich said: "Our country was presented with a heavy blow 33 years ago. Officers of the Belarusian police were the first in the epicenter of events. Initially, the focus was first on evacuation of people from the contaminated territories and then on public order. Our countrymen fulfilled their duty with honor. They isked their lives and health, worked tirelessly. All in all, about 10,000 representatives of the internal troops took part in the Chernobyl clean-up efforts,” he said.
Representatives of the public association "Veterans of Chernobyl" traditionally came to honor the memory of the countrymen from Volkovysk, Vitebsk, Grodno, Brest and other cities of Belarus.
Photos by Gennady Zhinkov
