Remembering Heroes

CHISINAU, December 14, 2011 — 25 years after the sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was built, we remember and honor those who sacrificed their lives for a noble cause, Minister of Defense Vitalie Marinuta stated Wednesday, December 14, during a meeting held at Chernobyl Heroes Monument on Trandafirilor Street from Botanica sector of Chisinau.

The meeting was held on the 25^th anniversary of the Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus and was dedicated to people who took part in the Chernobyl accident consequence removal in 1986.

The Defense Minister laid flowers to the above monument along with other state officials, including the Minister of Internal Affairs, representatives of the central and local public administration, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy to Chisinau.

In a message to the audience, the Minister of Defense pointed out the National Army staff’s gratitude towards heroes who showed bravery and courage during those hard moments.

“25 years ago, people of different professions made huge efforts to cover the destroyed nuclear plant with concrete. By keeping the radiation emissions from spreading in the air, these people did a heroic job, otherwise the consequences of the accident could have been even worse than they were”, Minister Vitalie Marinuta stated during the ceremony.

It is worth mentioning the concrete cover construction works in Chernobyl brought together over 210 military units and a contingent of 340 thousand officers and soldiers from the former Soviet Union. Nearly 3500 of them were from the Republic of Moldova. 3000 of them were reserve officers, including 231 officers deployed by the regional military centers, 400 active-duty officers, 70 representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 500 civilians. 2442 people from military centers are kept under medical supervision. Nearly 2319 of them are invalids affected by actinic disease.

The Chernobyl nuclear accident held April 26, 1986, is considered to be the most serious atomic catastrophe of the 20^th century. Over 7 million people suffered or are still suffering as a result of the terrible accident. The official data show that over 3500 citizens to take part in the Chernobil catastrophe relief operations were from the Republic of Moldova. 10% of them died and 65% are invalids.

The meeting dedicated to the 25^th anniversary of the sarcophagus of Chernobil Nuclear Power Plant was carried out by Chernobyl Association from Moldova.