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The Newsletter of
the
Socio-Ecological Union
A Center for Coordination
and Information
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Moscow, Russia -- Issue 6(21) - special,
August, 2001
IN THIS ISSUE:
RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS ARRESTS SPONSORED BY THE US CORPORATION
GAZPROM TRIES TO SILENCE PROTESTS
ARTEM CHLENOV SET FREE AND DEPORTED FROM SWEDEN
CORPORATIONS ATTACK - ENVIRONMENTALISTS ARRESTS IN HOT-SPOTS
RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS ARRESTS SPONSORED BY THE US CORPORATION
The arrests among environmentalists continue, some of the arrested went on hunger strike, reports our local representative.
These war-like bulletins are not coming from any huge capital city or anti-globalization protest.
The news is breaking in Votkinsk, city in Udmurtia - republic somewhere deep in Russia.
Since mid July some 50 young environmentalists from Russia and other countries gathered near this city - in attempt to help local population to fight one of the most dangerous projects. The "Rainbow keepers" movement initiated the camp.
One of the US corporations, Lokheed-Martin, found this place suitable to place the rocket engine incineration plant - the project that was once terminated in US after short time functioning in the desert.
The technology has not changed - only the place - Russian province instead of US, and populated area instead of desert.
The struggle of the local people was remarkable, but it seems that the authorities, well paid by the project initiators, not only remain deaf to the public protests, but are aggressive in their attempts to silence the protests. Local activists received threats several times; the media is also silenced or forced to smear the activists and to praise the project.
Despite the massive propaganda in the local media, trying to scare locals with eco-terrorists and anarchists invading the area, people embraced the protester arrival.
Since the very start of the protest camp it received close attention from local "authorized forces". First days authority and police representatives came to the camp constantly, checking documents and trying to understand, who the campers were.
Of course some direct threats were made.
The Big Brother switched from watching to action on August 3. The first arrests happened after action aimed to block Lokheed -Martin office. The jury was to happen on August 6, some 200 local people and activists gathered near the courtplace. However, judge decided to postpone the hearings until August 7, while 3 more activists, including one of the well-known informal leaders Max Kuchinsky were arrested right in the courthouse.
Arrests continued on August 7, when in the morning two activists were taken out of the camp (for that 11 policeman were involved).
Two others - Elina Dragunova from Samara and Mira Heija from Finland were arrested during the youth celebration "I give a life to myself". Elina is still under arrest while Mira is in Udmurtia capital Izhevsk, waiting for deportation.
On the same day, August 7, the jury restarted its work. However, it could not make any decision, except than to send the case for further investigation. The jury did not make any decision on further keeping activists under arrest, however, police attempted to get the activists back o the prison. People who gathered outside the court were blocking the police car way and screaming "Let them go!!!"
As the result of clashes with the police 6 more protesters were arrested.
Currently the are all kept in local prison as hostages. Police officials are trying to quit the protests promising to let the people go in exchange of ending the protest camp.
The STORY BACKGROUND
Lockheed-Martin has persuaded Russian Government to issue permission for the facility in the densely populated area - near the city of Votkinsk and other settlements. The project had never gone through any environmental assessments, nor the local population was informed or consulted. There was a certain reason for such haste and secrecy - neither environmental assessment for dangerous and risky project would be positive, nor population would agree to risk their and their kids' lives. The incinerator of the missile engines is an experimental, untested technology.
The facility, somehow resembling the one that is projected for Votkinsk, was once located in China-Lake desert, California. That incinerator was used to destruct 18 missile engines in 5 years, and them it was shut down.
For Votkinsk, it is planned to combust 916 engines and 410 missile corpses in 3 years.
Lockheed-Martin, together with the high level officials and local military plant chiefs tried to pull the project through quickly and quietly in assumption that "the local folks would swallow that".
"We feel that we are used as guinea pigs by the US company, that all of us are sold to it by our officials" - says Natalya Pavlyukova, one of the local community leaders. It seems that the company that has not been able to test its technology in US due to stricter environmental standards is putting citizens of the other country under deadly, unfair experiment. After the "field trial" would be done and all weaknesses fixed, the missile engine incineration technology might be used commercially elsewhere.
The truth came out in early 1998, and locals started to act. Growing discontent resulted into demonstrations and Votkinsk Ecological Union was established. People demanded the referendum - a voting procedure that gives people opportunity to decide their own fate. According to Russian legislation, referendum has supremacy in decision making. The referendum was held in January 17, 1999. Despite the threats from the military plant authorities, people by 94% said "no" to the project. Referendum and its result was an unpleasant news for Lockheed Martin an their allies - too much money was already invested into the project and its lobbying.
The referendum was challenged in the Supreme Court of Udmurtia and found illegal for a phony reason. The referendum was held in the city of Votkinsk while facility is to be constructed in the 4 kilometer "green" zone of Votkinsk - formally, Votkins region.
Local people are not giving in - "We are not going just to sit and watch our children getting sick" - says Natalya.
The Udmurtia Republic and Votkinsk region specifically are already seriously affected by chemical pollution - due to chemical weapon storage and military industry. The new incinerator would add dioxins, biphenyl, cyanic hydrogen and other hazardous chemicals.
However, in response to the citizens' information requests Lockheed - Martin representatives deny any possible hazards coming from the facility. Are the company experts incompetent not to be aware of the risks of, for example, dioxin contamination? Or, more likely, it is just another lie counting on people ignorance?
In the US, where at least there is a community Right to Know Act, Lockheed Martin would have to give full account of the chemical cocktail recipe produced by the incinerator. And any sane community would kick it out.
In Russian province Lockheed - Martin feel itself as a mighty landlord, having promised to local authorities 60 mlns of USD for the project realization. All of them have forgotten, however, that the Middle Ages with serfdom times are long gone, and people together with their land can't be sold anymore.
For more information:
E-mail: Rkvotkinsk@mail.ru
URL: http://www.goryachiy.narod.ru
GAZPROM TRIES TO SILENCE PROTESTS
Alarming news are coming from south of Russia.
It's Black Sea region remains an environmental hot spot for several years - due to several dangerous projects that are supposed to be carried out there. Police violence and legal violation on the authority side mark the public protests.
It is not a surprise to anyone who now that the players there are big oil and gas companies that are used to pose their own conditions both on regions and governments.
One of the latest projects is the "Blue stream" gas pipe construction, carried out by Gazporm - Russian gas monopoly.
The construction of the pipe is done with severe legal and environmental violations - it goes through several protected natural areas and through Gelendjik resort sanitary zone.
On August 4, before the Peace Caravan start (a peaceful march and festivals aiming to save the Black Sea environment), activists and local population held a protest action against the environmentally harmful construction.
At one of the gas pipe construction points, Smolenskaya settlement, youth, environmentalists, local population, blocked the Gazprom trucks way to construction site. The local population for more than a year were complaining about the trucks night and day roaring through the settlement, raising tons of dust in the air. However, all their complaints and protests went by unnoticed.
The banner across the road said "No way for Gazprom trucks". The Cars were forced to stop or to change their root.
However, the situation changed when police forces arrived. Some truck drivers made attempts to move their cars forward, almost riding over the protesters, laying on the road, blocking the way with their bodies. One of the truck drivers jumped out of the car and tried to drag away one of the protesters, a girl from Krasnodar.
When one of the environmental movement leaders of the south of Russia Andrey Rudomakha tried to protect her, he was grabbed by the police, his head was hit several times against the trucks and then he was put into police car. Several other activists were arrested.
They are kept in prison, the charges against them are blackguardism and attacking police. The latter may lead to felony charges. Arrested environmentalists went on hunger strike to protest the charges.
The whole case by the green movement members is regarded as a Gazprom and local authorities attempt to silence the protests against dangerous protest - like "Blue stream" or Caspian Pipeline Consortium oil terminal.
For more information:
E-mail: bgstar@euro.ru
ARTEM CHLENOV SET FREE AND DEPORTED FROM SWEDEN
Artem Chlenov was finally set free - or to be more exact, was deported from Sweden - after spending more than a month in Swedish prison.
He was accused of throwing rocks onto the police during the Gotheburg protests. One of the police officers claimed to know him, while truly Artem at the time of the events was more than 500 kilometrs far from the place.
However, he was arrested, and the investigation went on. He was not allowed to meet anyone except attorney given by Swedish police. Only Russian Consulate managed to get some news on the developments.
But finally there were firm proofs of Artem innocence, and, as his visa expired, he was deported to St-Petersburg. Artem was not give any papers on where he spent this time, and that his case was dismissed even before getting to jury.
SEU and Rainbow keepers demand from Swedish Government to give the apologies to Artem and also moral compensation.
Background
Artem Chlenov is a 32 year old ecologist from the city of Kasimov, member of Rainbow Keepers movement and International Socio-Ecological Union, imprisoned in the Swedish city of Gothenburg after protest actions against summit of European Union organized from 15th to 17th of June 2001. He was accused of throwing a stone against a policeman - a crime which no-one saw him committing. Artem is known to be a peace-loving man who has never used any aggression.
What people saw instead was the extreme violence to which Swedish state turned in order to stop protests of groups like trade unions and environmental groups concerned of European Union's course of development to a new neo-liberal militaristic superstate.
Most extreme action of police was shooting of a "Reclaim the city" carnival in the evening of Friday 15th of June. Three persons were wounded, one critically and it is still unknown will he survive or not. However this was only a peak of the violence during the week, which has led Swedish human rights and other concerned organizations to raise 20 complaints against violent behavior of the police. Series of police provocations started 14th of June when Swedish police surrounded Hvitfeldtska secondary housing peaceful protesters school with containers, armed with police horses, dogs and a helicopter. Police attacked people with horses and dogs, at least one demonstrator was bitten to face by a police dog.
During actions of the weekend, police continuously escalated violence by attacking demonstrators with dogs and horses unprovoked. Some non-uniformed police provocateurs destroyed private property in order to discredit demonstrators. In Saturday 16th of June a group of masked police armed with submachineguns invaded another school in which people were staying, claiming to search "arms and terrorists" which they never found. Some demonstrators did involved themselves in fighting with police, but vast majority of the demonstrators were calm even when police behavior was endangering their lives.
25000 persons from all around the West and East-Europe came to Gothenburg to demonstrate against imperialistic and unequal policies of the European union. One target of the demonstrations was American president George Bush JR visiting Gothenburg, which has lately scrapped both Kyoto protocol against global warming and anti-ballistic missile treaty of 1972, declaring both a new cold war and a war against global environment. Officials of the European Union are ready to go to the very extreme in order to create a new global superpower. Sweden, mostly known as an example of social peace, has adopted brutal strategies seen only in South after fall of the iron curtain.
For more information:
E-mail: Artem2000@mail.ru
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