April 26 is the 16th anniversary of the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power station. The Russian Democratic Party YABLOKO supported by dozens of public organisations plans to conduct a nationwide action.

The participants in the action will pay tribute to the memories of the victims of the disaster and express their protest against the policies of the Ministry of Atomic Energy to import nuclear waste into Russia.

Picketing and meetings on this day will be organised in over 50 regions in the country.

On April 18, 2002, the local authorities of the Central Administrative District of Moscow prohibited this action in the capital. It particular, it was prohibited from picketing metro stations and the building of the Ministry of Atomic Energy.

According to Deputy Prefect of the Central Administrative District S.I. Zaitsev, a meeting cannot be conducted near the Ministry of Atomic Energy, as this could create problems for the personnel of the Ministry using parking space near the building. The Moscow representatives of YABLOKO regard the proposal of the Moscow authorities to conduct the meeting by the monument to Lenin at Kaluzhskaya Square (former "Oktyabrskaya" square) as a humiliation. It should also be noted that the Moscow authorities did not object to a meeting of radical nationalists at Pushkin Square in the centre of Moscow.

The leadership of the Russian Democratic Party YABLOKO and environmental and human rights organisations supporting the action reacted negatively to the position of the Moscow authorities.

See also:

YABLOKO Against Nuclear Waste Imports