On April 26, the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster,
YABLOKO conducted a staged action by the Russian Atomic Energy
Agency (Rosatom) under the slogan "Save the world from
the peaceful atom". Ten activists of the party wearing
costumes of deaths came to the Rostam building. They were
holding Rosatoms slogans and were headed by an activist wearing
a mask of Sergei Kiriyenko, Rostam head. The placards were
saying Chernobyl. Fukushima. I want more!, The nuclear
energy sector is the safest in the world!, Kiriyenko, build
nuclear power stations faster! and Kiriyenko to presidency!
YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin, who also attended the action,
said that the party had been commemorating the tragic Chernobyl
anniversary for many years already. "Not only we commemorate
those who died and express sympathy for those who got sick
in this tragedy, but we also speak about the danger of the
new Rosatoms plans, said Sergei Mitrokhin.
He spoke about Rostams plans to build a nuclear power plant
on the border of Novgorod and Vladimir regions, near the town
Murom. The nuclear power plant would be built on moving karst
soils, where an accident may occur at any time and this would
inevitably lead to a disaster similar to that in Chernobyl.
At the same time Sergei Mitrokhin said that the money for
this construction came from the state budget rather than private
investors. "This is the taxpayers' money, the money of
ordinary Russians, teachers, doctors and people with disabilities.
Moreover, Rosatom builds with our money nuclear plants not
only in Russia but also abroad," Sergei Mitrokhin stressed.
Thus, Rosatim plans to build nuclear power plants in China,
India and Turkey. In Turkey the plant will be built in a seismically
hazardous area, which had a strong earthquake in 2011. But
Rosatom did not care about this, the money (USD 1 bln) for
the construction of this plant had been allotted three days
after the quake, Mitrokhin said.
According to Mitrokhin, the Turkish opposition would not
allow Rostaom to implement this plan, and the money allotted
for it would most likely vanish. "But we know where the
money will go, look at the expensive cars parked by Rostams
building, he noted.
Academician Alexei Yablokov, leader of YABLOKOs Green Russia
faction and renowned environmentalist, told about independent
assessments of the Chernobyl disaster being significantly
more pessimistic than the official reports. "It's millions
of deaths and diseases, cancers, premature aging and diseases
of the endocrine system," stressed Yablokov.
According to Yablokov, 43 per cent of toxic sediments polluted
the territory of the former Soviet Union after the disaster
and the rest were spread across the globe. "Today, Chernobyl
sediments can be found in the lakes of China, the Nile Delta
and Japan," he said.
Also YABLOKO will hold the same action in Chelyabinsk, where
YABLOKO activists, environmentalists and civil activists will
pay tribute to the memory of liquidators of the Chernobyl
disaster. The activists will fly 26 balloons symbolizing 26
years since the tragedy.
Sergei Mitrokhin and Alexei Yablokov
Alexei Yablokov
Sergei Mitrokhin and Galina Mikhalyova
Sergei Mitrokhin
More
photographs
See also:
YABLOKO to picket the
Russian Atomic Energy Agency on the anniversary of the Chernobyl
disaster. Press Release, April 25, 2012.
Yabloko
for Nuclear Safety
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