Belarusian authorities banned recuperation trips of children to Switzerland

400 Belarusian children from regions contaminated with radiation won’t be able to go for recuperation any more.

This year the program of Belarusian children’s recuperation in Switzerland may fail because of Belarusian authorities, www.swissinfo.ch informs.

Alexander Lukashenka demanded from Switzerland written guarantees that children would return, and the asylum in the country would be denied to them. When Switzerland refused to comply with the claim, as it contradicts human rights legislation, trips of Belarusian children were stopped completely.

Andreas Goerlich-Koch, a representative of Hardwald Chernobyl charity from Zurich, believes that in this case children have become hostages of the cruel policy of the authorities:

‘When they come to Switzerland, they see democracy and better lifestyle than in Belarus, and it makes them ask questions why they cannot see the same at home. Lukashenka keeps these children hostages of their policy.’

If the ban won’t be lifted, the organization plans to invite for recuperation adults from Belarus which are not affected by Belarusian authorities. Besides, this year Hardwald Chernobyl plans to organize programs of medical assistance in Belarusian hospitals.

Bear in mind that problems with recuperation of Belarusian children in the countries of the European Union and the United States occur regularly due to the Belarusian authorities.