UKRAINIANS HOLD BANNERS DURING A PROTEST OUTSIDE THE U.S. EMBASSY IN KIEV, 2002-12-17 (photo)

Ukrainians hold a banner reading: "New life for the Chernobyl plant" as  they take part in a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Kiev on  December 17, 2002. About 9,000 members of Ukraine's Chernobyl Union  staged a meeting in Kiev demanding proper financing and implementation  of Chernobyl programs or re-opening of the Chernobyl nuclear power  plant, the Interfax agency reported. Ukraine closed the Chernobyl plant  on December 15, 2000 in return for Western funding to finish building  replacement reactors at Khmelnitsky and Rivne, but the plant's closure  wasn't popular among the wider population as it provided Ukraine with  around five percent of its electricity and its closure meant a gradual  phasing out of its staff. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich    YYK/AS