KIEV, APRIL 22, 1996
At the top left, two policemen attempt to block Greenpeace Ukraine protestors from reaching the Presidential offices. Undeterred, demonstrators bypass police by running up the hill. Photo (139k)
Having run in from three locations, more than 70 Greenpeace Ukraine activists block the doors to the Ukrainian White House. They are delivering a coffin with a model of the Chernobyl sarcophagus inside. Each has brought a cross representing a village that has been permanently dislocated due to Chernobyl. Photo (172k)
An emissay of Ukraine's President Kuchma argued that Chernobyl is safe, and that Greenpeace is not "expert." The Greenpeace spokesman presented the emissary with a letter demanding immediate shutdown of the remaining Chernobyl reactors.
All at once, the people on the steps rose and began surrounding Kuchma's agent with crosses. As TV cameras focused in, and the Greenpeace spokesman stepped back, the Ukrainian official found himself surrounded by the crosses brought by an abandoned generation. Photo (156k)