Minsk City Executive Committee

On the 26th of April in memory of the victims and heroes of the Chernobyl catastrophe a mourning ceremony was held in Minsk, BELTA correspondent informs.

The ceremony began in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Seeking Out of the Lost" from the prayer in tribute to the memory of the Chernobyl catastrophe victims. The service was conducted by Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus Filaret. He prayed for the repose of the brothers and sisters who in time of peace fought against the Chernobyl disaster and showed their courage while defending mankind and life on Earth. "Lest we forget. We will remember them and pray for them", said Bishop Filaret. He thanked everybody who every year comes to this Church on the day of the Chernobyl catastrophe in order to commemorate those who died as a result of the catastrophe at the Chernobyl Atomic Power Station.

After the service flowers and wreaths were laid to the Memorial Sign "Stone of Memory to the Victims and Heroes of the Chernobyl Catastrophe". The ceremony was attended by Vladimir Makey, Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus, representatives of the Council of Ministers, members of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, representatives of Minsk City Executive Committee, Belarusian Republican Youth Union, diplomatic corps, as well as by those who participated in those tragic events that took place 24 years ago.

As BELTA correspondent was told by Mikhail Obrasov, Chairman of the Minsk Relief Fund for the Victims of the Catastrophe at the Chernobyl Atomic Power Station, near the Memorial Sign and the Church there will soon appear the Wall of Memory on which there will be carved the names of the settlements that were wiped out by the Chernobyl tragedy, as well as the names of the Chernobyl heroes. "That will be a uniform memorial complex", said the Chairman. According to Mikhail Obrasov when he happened to visit the place of the catastrophe he was mostly struck by the deserted houses and schools which, the day before, had still been full of children’s voices and laughter.

Nikolai Sereda, police Major-general, underlined that after the catastrophe at the Chernobyl Atomic Power Station officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were the first to face the tragedy (at that time he was Deputy Chief of Homel Police Department). Police officers were responsible for the people’s evacuation, the safety of their houses. They were also responsible for providing food and accommodation for specialists who came to the place of the tragedy. "We had to make pillars for fencing of the ten-kilometer zone of tragedy", said Nikolai Sereda. He is sure that the April events of 1986 will never be forgotten by their participants.