Tsikhanouskaya on Chernobyl anniversary: Russian nuclear weapons make Belarusians hostages of Russia's imperial ambitions

Tsikhanouskaya says that when Chernobyl happened, she was only three years old.

"I don't remember the explosion itself, but I remember how its long shadow lived alongside us later.

My native Mikashevichy also fell into the zone of radioactive contamination. Doctors often visited us at school. They especially checked our thyroid glands. Iodine became almost commonplace, like something that simply had to be there. The trace of the fact that many Belarusians were born on radiation-contaminated land, we still carry within us," she says.

The politician reminds that Belarus bore the main brunt of Chernobyl – up to 70 percent of radioactive fallout landed specifically on us.

"But people were wounded not only by radiation. People were wounded by silence. By suppression. When Soviet 'stability' and May Day parades were more important than people's health and lives," she says.

Today's authorities in Belarus behave just like the Soviet authorities during Chernobyl, says Tsikhanouskaya.

The Astravets Nuclear Power Plant was built without proper international control, and when incidents occurred there, they tried to conceal them as if nothing had happened, she reminds.

"The authorities went further and are now deploying Russian nuclear weapons on our territory. This turns Belarus into a target and makes Belarusians hostages of Russia's imperial ambitions. Russia is thus trying to solidify its control over Belarus, to blackmail and threaten its neighbors. Because Russian nuclear weapons are not at all about security. They are a threat to our people and to our independence," says Tsikhanouskaya.

She adds that Chernobyl showed what governmental irresponsibility leads to. But it also showed the power of solidarity.

"And on this day, I think of our wonderful people. Not only those who suffered. But also those who helped. Chernobyl showed how much human warmth there is in the world. Resettled people were supported by relatives and friends. Tens of thousands of Belarusian children were hosted by families in Europe, America, and Canada for recuperation. For many, this was the first experience that the world can be good, open, and that even behind a foreign language, you can see someone's big heart.

We remember Chernobyl. We remember everyone. And we will do everything so that the mistakes of the past are never repeated again," she said.

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