Journalist Denied Access to a Building Yard of the Nuclear Station in Astravets
Correspondent of Radio Svaboda Mikhail Karnevich provided all required documents to the Management of the worksite of Astravets nuclear station; however, he was not allowed to enter the site.
Mikhail Karnevich says he first of all addressed to the Ministry of Energetics, from which he was referred to the Directorate of building nuclear stations. There he was offered to fill in a standard form for the special security body, and a typical request on the blank of the editorial office for the head of the worksite of the nuclear station.
After two weeks’ consideration the journalist was informed that he could visit the worksite on March 19. Though he was asked what he wanted to see and who to talk to? The journalist answered that he wanted to talk to the workers in the site and to the management of the site, to clarify information about deadlines and speed of the building.
Just before the incident, during a meeting of Belarusian and Russian presidents, Vladimir Lukashenka said that Astravets nuclear station is being built several months ahead of the schedule, and the first bloc is going to start working in 2018.
After Mikhail Karnevich drove 240 kilometers on March 19, he met a representative of the informational center of the worksite who said that the journalist could not enter the site because some paper from the Ministry of Energetics was missing.
“I did not phone to the higher directorate, who had told me the day before that I could attend the site, because I was explained that I would hear there the same thing. So I did not get there,” said the journalist.
