Vol. 470 No. 5
45 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will intercede with the President of Belarus or if he will make other diplomatic moves in order to prevent the Belarusian military authorities from carrying out military exercises as planned in an area close to the Chernobyl nuclear plant, particularly in view of the potential ecological dangers involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19464/96]
I have seen media reports that the Belarusian military was contemplating conducting military exercises in the Gomel region of Belarus, which suffered badly from the fall-out from the Chernobyl nuclear power station in neighbouring Ukraine. The media reports suggested that deserted buildings in the contaminated area would be used as targets, with resulting fires which would spread contaminated dust to neighbouring regions or countries.
Our Embassy in Moscow, which is accredited to Belarus, and EU partner embassies resident in Belarus have reported that they know of no plans to proceed with such an exercise. I will, however, continue to monitor the situation closely. If the reports were true, it would of course be a matter of serious concern to both Ireland and other countries in Europe and would call for strong representations.
