Hundreds of Chernobyl survivors rally to demand more compensation [View All]

[struggle4progress]

Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Hundreds of Chernobyl survivors marched in downtown Kiev Saturday to demand more compensation for victims of the world's worst nuclear accident 19 years ago.

The Ukrainian Chernobyl Union, a group representing victims of the disaster, organized the march to press for an increase in social benefits, payment of overdue compensation and better medical treatment for thousands of people directly affected by the accident.

Many protesters carried photographs of loved ones killed in the 1986 accident and banners with slogans reading "Chernobyl is closed, are the problems of Chernobyl forgotten?" Police estimated the crowd at around 700.

The explosion of Chernobyl's Reactor No. 4 on April 26, 1986 sent radioactive fallout over then-Soviet Ukraine, Russia and much of northern Europe. Some 3.3 million Ukrainians, including 1.5 million children, were affected by the accident at the plant, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Kiev, and receive financial or other forms of compensation such as subsidized vacations and medical treatment. <snip>

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/04/23/build/world/53-chernobyl.inc