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Organizers apply to Minsk authorities for permission for Chernobyl anniversary march

An organizing committee on Monday filed an application with the Minsk City Executive Committee for permission to stage a march in Minsk on April 26 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, Dzyanis Sadowski, a leader of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party, told BelaPAN.

As in previous years, the organizers want the march to begin in the square in front of the National Academy of Sciences and end with a rally at the so-called Chernobyl chapel near Bangalore Square, according to Mr. Sadowski.

The application was signed by Mr. Sadowski, prominent opposition politician Yury Khadyka and small business activist Mikalay Pakhabaw.

Mr. Sadowski said that the organizers were ready to discuss with the city authorities how the march should be staged. "If there's a crowd of fewer than 5,000, we will lead the procession on sidewalks," he said.

In Belarus under Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s rule, the “Charnobylski Shlyakh” (Path of Chernobyl) march has become one of the largest annual protests staged in Minsk by opponents of the government.

Some 1,500 people took part in last year's Charnobylski Shlyakh march and 10,000 in 2006, when the 20th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was observed. A crowd of up to 50,000 took part in the march on the 10th anniversary, during which demonstrators overturned cars and clashed with riot police. Dozens were injured and more than 200 were arrested.