Belarussians gather to remember Chernobyl disaster

More than 5,000 opposition protesters massed in the Belarusian capital Minsk today to mark the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster despite police fencing off a downtown square where they had planned to rally.

Alexander Milinkevich, the opposition candidate who challenged authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in last month’s disputed election, said the closure of the square showed authorities were scared and vowed to continue a campaign of protests.