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Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Resolution on the 30th Anniversary of the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Hazard Arising to Lithuania due to the Nuclear Power Plant Under Construction in the Ostrovets District of Belarus, and the


Published: 2016-12-05

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SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

 

 

RESOLUTION

ON THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACCIDENT AT THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AND  THE HAZARD ARISING TO LITHUANIA DUE TO THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE OSTROVETS DISTRICT OF BELARUS, AND THE PROPOSAL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO REDUCE THE THREAT

 

12 May 2016, No. XII-2350

Vilnius

 

 

 

 

The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania,

marking the 30th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and honouring the memory of all the accident-related fatalities and victims;

having regard to the effects of the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant where the established 30-kilometer exclusion zone is still one of the most radioactively contaminated places in the world, and the total contaminated land area covered about 50 thousand square kilometres;

realizing that unsafe nuclear power plant accidents cause a long-term impact on the environment, especially in areas close to the disaster place;

stating that in view of the potential danger, nuclear power plants must be built without reservations in accordance with the highest international requirements for nuclear safety, environmental protection, publicity, public information;

taking into account the fact that the Republic of Belarus rapidly builds a nuclear power plant in the Ostrovets district right near the Lithuanian state border in violation of the international environmental Espoo and Aarhus Conventions;

stressing that the Lithuanian society has not received proper access to the project's environmental impact assessment report yet and no answers have been given to the questions raised by the Republic of Lithuania;

noting that the place to build the nuclear power plant was chosen on the basis of a political decision in breach of the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency and in violation of the principles of good neighbourhood;

stating that in case of an accident Vilnius, the capital of the Republic of Lithuania, would be at particular risk, and in case of a more serious nuclear accident the evacuation zone would cover all the city of Vilnius,

recognizesthat the nuclear power plant under construction in the Ostrovets district of Belarus which is situated 50 kilometres from Vilnius, the capital of the Republic of Lithuania, poses a serious threat to Lithuania and Vilnius as it is built too close to the capital and infringes the principle of the Convention on Nuclear Safety requiring to consult neighbouring states regarding the selection of nuclear power plant building sites and to assess effects and a possible damage of nuclear power plants on individuals and the natural and built environment of the neighbouring states;

urges the Government of the Republic of Lithuania:

1) to take all necessary diplomatic, legal and technical measures to stop the building of the unsafe nuclear power plant in Belarus;

2) to declare immediately and categorically the will of Republic of Lithuania to Belarus that this unsafe nuclear power plant will not be allowed to use the electric power system of Lithuania and its reserve capacities, that the electricity produced in this nuclear power plant will not be allowed into the electric power system of Lithuania nor will it be allowed to be sold on the Lithuanian energy market under any circumstances;

3) to draw up and submit to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania until 1 June 2016 a plan of concrete actions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania with the purpose of implementing the provisions of this Resolution.

 

 

 

SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS                                                          LORETA GRAUŽINIENĖ