BRAGIN, 26 April (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko hosted a meeting in Bragin on 26 April to discuss the revival of the Chernobyl-affected lands in the south of Belarus. Attending the meeting were the heads of the districts which lands are located within the boundaries of the affected areas, BelTA has learned.
The meeting focused on the efficient usage of the lands of the Polesie state radiation and ecology reserve and its surroundings. This matter was raised by the president during his visit to Narovlya District on 24 April. “We have to work out, as I understand, the final program for the revival of these lands, the program on the mitigation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. Why is there such a need and even an opportunity right now? We have lived 35 years after the Chernobyl accident and we have understood the way we have to go and restore life,” the president said explaining the reason to hold the meeting.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that back then, just a few years after the accident, many tried to make politics on it, exaggerating the topic. Moreover, many decisions were taken at random. “We were smart enough then to do it gradually [to work on the revival and development of the affected areas]. We supported people. We did everything to understand what was going on, to save people and to save these lands. Thirty-five years have passed, and we can see what is bad, what we have to move away from and what we have to do to solve the main task. The main task for us is to revive these lands. This is the main thing,” the head of state said.
“This program should be a program for land revival, the purpose of which should be the level of the pre-Chernobyl period, with certain features,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. According to him, there is no need to restore small villages. “We need to decide, as we said in Narovlya, where people will live. These are district centers (we have them) and agro-towns, which we have as well. We need to focus on these agro-towns,” the head of state said.
Logging and woodworking is one of the promising areas for the development of these areas. “First of all, we need to plant forest on vacant areas, and there are many of them. There are a lot of such areas,” the head of state said.
The focus will also be on agriculture, which plays a significant role in the economy of these regions.
“We have to think about what we will do in the south of the country. As we once planned, we need to build a railway from Zhitkovichi to Yelsk. We will calculate everything. If it pays off at least in 10-12 years, it should be done to involve this region. We also need to work on the development of other roads. We need to restore this region and determine where people will live. We should understand what enterprises to build there, what jobs will be available,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The task is to work out an appropriate program by September.
After the participation in a commemorative meeting to mark the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, the president spoke with the residents of Bragin and urged them to take an active part in the revival and development of their land. He touched on the topic of the pandemic, spoke about the progress in the vaccination of the population, the development of a domestic vaccine, and assured that everything necessary is being done to protect people.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also spoke about social and political issues, calling for peaceful discussion of any problematic matters. “We need to get together, discuss, do it without a fight. Because someone needs this fight. Someone needs chaos (you know who) on this land. Live peacefully. You will never regret staying here,” the president said.
The head of state said how during the first years of his presidency there were talks about setting up the Polesie People's Republic, i.e. an attempt to separate Belarus into parts. If they had succeeded then, there would have been no question of restoring the Chernobyl lands. “We managed to preserve these lands only thanks to the fact that we collected money from all over the country and sent it here,” said the president.
“Now they want to divide Belarus in half again. It won't work! Even without me. We have realized that we have our own land and our own country and we will not give it to anyone,” the head of state added.
