Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 4 May (BelTA) – The Chernobyl catastrophe is a pain for the entire mankind. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Belarus Cui Qiming made the relevant statement during the presentation of the book Chernobyl Pain on 4 May, BelTA has learned. The book’s publication has been timed to the 30^th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

The head of the Chinese diplomatic mission noted: “The book is kind of a history of memory, of the deeds and heroism of the Belarusian nation.” Cui Qiming stressed that Belarus had done a great deal to overcome consequences of the greatest tragedy of the 20^th century — the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

“The Belarusian nation has demonstrated genuine heroism and has stood up to this tragedy,” said the diplomat.

The Ambassador said he deeply respected the Belarusian nation and those, who had been directly involved in the cleanup operations. According to Cui Qiming, Belarus has accumulated invaluable experience of dealing with consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. “It represents a great contribution to the development of the mankind,” noted the Ambassador. He drew attention to the importance of rehabilitating the afflicted territories, which the Belarusian government pays close attention to and spends a lot of money on. China supports Belarus in this difficult process of minimization of the tragedy’s consequences.

Chairman of the Veterans of Chernobyl Committee Vladimir Kamenkov told those present how the fourth edition of the book Chernobyl Pain had been created. The previous editions were timed to the 15^th, 20^th, and 25^th anniversaries of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The fourth edition is an expanded one but even then it has not been able to contain all the materials.

It is worth noting that the book offers documentary recollections of the cleanup workers, who retell the events that occurred 30 years ago.

The Embassy of China in Belarus and Cui Qiming personally have helped a lot with the book’s publication.

Representatives of the parliament, government agencies, and Chernobyl cleanup workers also made speeches during the presentation.