Greek Catholics Call on President to Fulfill State's Duty with Respect to Chornobyl Disaster Liquidators

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church calls on Viktor Yanukovych and Ukraine’s Government to fulfill the state’s duty with respect to the liquidators of the Chornobyl disaster and Afghan war veterans, the Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of UGCC, Bohdan Dziurakh, said in an interview to UNIAN.net.

He stated that the church “watches with strong concern and pain” the hunger strike of the liquidators of Chornobyl disaster and protests of other unprotected social groups.

According to the hierarch, when the state doesn't care for the categories of people who suffered as the result of someone’s wrong political decisions, such as the Afghan War, they go out into the streets.

According to him, it is obvious that the Ukrainian state cannot assume the responsibility for the decisions of the Communist ideologists of the USSR who sent young boys to the Afghan hell, but it is the responsibility of the Ukrainian state to everything possible to help its citizens “to heal the wounds of the past and feel socially protected.”

According to the Secretary of the Synod, the liquidators of the Chornobyl disaster are also deprived of due care and protection. These are people who risked their lives and health to prevent a much larger catastrophe from occuring.

“And now, these people with undermined health have to fight against their own state for their rights to which they are entitled according to the law. This status quo shows how far our state is from the notion of a social or even simply civilized one where basic human rights are respected and humiliation of the dignity of the weak is prevented,” said the hierarch