Pickets against new nuclear power plants were held in Vilnius.

Three pickets were held simultaneously in Vilnius on 26 April 2010, the day of the 24-th anniversary of Chernobyl nuclear disaster. These events were organized to protest against the plans to build new nuclear power plants in Astravec(Belarus), in Visaginas(Lithuania) and in Baltic, Kaliningrad region(Russia). The pickets were held near the Embassy of Belarus, the Embassy of Russia and House of Lithuanian Government. Activists handed their petitions to the officials. Major aim of these public protests is to stop the plans to build the nuclear power plants and to call for the development of the new nuclear free strategies of energy development within the the above mentioned countries .

Participants of the events were members of civil society organizations and activists from Lithuania, Belarus and Russia, namely Atgaja, Ecohome, Anti-nuclear coalition, Green Party of Lithuania and EcoDefense.

The Head of the Lithuanian environmental organization Atgaja, Saulius Pikshris said: “We wish people understood what nuclear energy really is – it is very dangerous and doesn’t provide energy independence, despite what people from the government say. While authorities declare that nuclear energy is safety, we, environmentalists, are sure that every nuclear power station pose hazard to life. And our primary goal is to stop them progressing with the plans for three nuclear power plants. We are for nuclear free future and for renewable energy development.”

Belarusian and Lithuanian public activists were in a picket near the Embassy of Belarus in Vilnius. Gintaras Songajla, deputy assistant at Lithuanian Seimas, was accompanied by the picketers who held 10-meter-long banner that said: “Nuclear power plant in Astravec – thanks, we don’t need it”. They also declared their demands to Belarusian government and President Lukashenka: to keep in mind the aftermath of Chernobyl disaster, to dismiss the plans to build the nuclear power plant and to make progress with a strategy of sustainable non-nuclear energy development.

Members of Ecohome Irina Sukhy, Tatiana Novikova and Irina Kapariha were grateful to environmental activists from Lithuania for being invited to join the picket, since all efforts from nuclear energy opponents’ side to obtain permission for a picket in Belarus were disregarded by authorities.

During the picket a Petition was given to ambassador of Belarus.

The picket near the Embassy of Russian Federation was aimed against building the nuclear power station in Kaliningrad region just 12 km away from the Lithuanian border.

Photos from the pickets can be found on the web page of antinuclear campaign in Belarus

http://atomby.net/V-den-24-y-godovschinyi-chernobyilskoy-katastrofyi-v-Vilnyuse-proshli-piketyi-protiv-sooruzheniya-novyih-AES.html









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