Europe warned Chernobyl still a threat 24 years on

KIEV - Ukraine's President warned on the 24th anniversary of the world's worst atomic accident that the Chernobyl nuclear reactor remains a serious threat to Europe.

The 1986 reactor explosion sent a cloud of radiation over much of the continent and severe health problems persist.

President Viktor Yanukovych says around two million people have illnesses caused by the radiation, and non-governmental organisations estimate the disaster has caused more than 700,000 early deaths.

The reactor is encased in a deteriorating shell and internationally funded work to replace it is far behind schedule.

Yanukovych said during commemoration ceremonies yesterday that the reactor is a threat "not only for Ukraine, but for Europe, Russia and Belarus".

The radiation left swaths of Ukraine and Belarus uninhabitable.

Yanukovych laid flowers at a monument to victims in Chernobyl and visited a plant that reprocesses spent nuclear fuel.

He pledged to give better care for Chernobyl victims and those who still have related diseases, calling that an issue of "conscience and honour."

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov promised better medical treatment, higher pensions and accommodation.

In Kiev, an Orthodox priest prayed near a monument to Chernobyl victims in front of hundreds who gathered to pay tribute to those who died.

Some of them complained about inadequate compensation and treatment for those who fell ill after taking part in the clean-up.

"We lost our town, we lost everything. Every time, the authorities promise to raise our pensions, but they always lie," said Serhiy Krasylnikov, a former plant worker who heads a Kiev district union of Chernobyl victims.

A commemoration march took place in the capital, Belarus.

In previous years, opposition groups had used unsanctioned commemoration gatherings as a venue for protesting against the authoritarian Government.

This year, officials have sanctioned the march.

In Minsk's heavily policed central square, about 2000 demonstrators held aloft opposition flags bearing slogans such as, "Dictatorship is like another Chernobyl", and, "You cannot stop radiation with decrees". Their march ended with a candlelit vigil by a church dedicated to the victims of the disaster.

Independent analysts in Belarus say much is being done to hide the truth about the wider consequences of the disaster to this day.

They say contaminated agricultural produce still finds its way on to shop shelves.

- AP