Some 3,000 Belarusian children traveled to Britain on respite holiday this year

Some 3,000 children residing in Belarus' radioactively contaminated areas traveled to Britain on respite holidays in 2008, British Ambassador Nigel Gould-Davies said in an interview with BelaPAN.

The ambassador said that the Minsk-based British embassy had received some 10,000 applications for a visa this year, granting more than 90 percent of them.

He recalled that the embassy had started issuing biometrics visas this year and introduced a biometrics data collection technology allowing children from provinces to submit a visa application without traveling to Minsk.

When commenting on the ban introduced by the Belarusian authorities on the travel of Belarusian children abroad under Chernobyl relief and other programs, Mr. Gould-Davies said that Belarus and Britain would hold talks on the matter. "Britain and other countries of the European Union are worried about the situation that has unexpectedly emerged. We hope for the speedy and successful solution of the problem, as it is in the interests of children and for their good," he said.

Last Friday, Alyaksandr Lukashenka suspeded for one month his earlier imposed restrictions on Belarusian children's trips abroad for respite care.

The restrictions were imposed this past October after a 16-year-old Belarusian girl failed to show up for a flight home from the United States in August and said that she wanted to stay in California.

The Belarusian leader's October 13 edict stipulated that Belarusian children may travel aboard on a health break under Chernobyl relief and other charity programs only to countries that have concluded with the Belarusian government an agreement that guarantees the return of the kids.