The Yabloko faction of the State Duma called on the members of the Federation Council to hold an extraordinary meeting of the chamber to consider and reject the package of laws on the import of nuclear wasteinto Russia.

Yabloko’s address to the Federation Council states: “In our opinion the upper chamber cannot absolve itself of responsibility for decision-making on the issue that will determine the health and welfare of future generations of Russia’s citizens. We call on you to consider at the extraordinary meeting of the Federation Council the package of laws on the import of nuclear waste into Russia in order to reject it.” The document stresses: “The future of Russia is in your hands!”.

The address of the Yabloko faction signed by the head of the faction Grigory Yavlinsky was forwarded to the Federation Council on Wednesday 20, 2001.

The Yabloko faction called on members of the Federation Council “not to share the painful experience of the lower chamber.” The address continues: “By rejecting the nuclear package, you will create an opportunity for the establishment of a conciliatory commission and a further review of these draft laws in the State Duma to allow for the introduction of essential amendments to them on the basis of additional expertise”.

The laws “On Amendments to Article 50 of the Law of the RSFSR “On Environmental Protection” and “On Amendments and Addenda to the Federal Law “On the Use of Atomic Energy”, which allow for wide-ranging exports of spent nuclear fuel to Russia, were adopted by the State Duma on June 6 2001. The Yabloko faction was the only deputy’ group to unanimously vote against the adoption of these laws in all three hearings in the Duma.

On June 13, 2001, these drafts were submitted to the Federation Council. The two weeks envisaged by the Constitution of the RF for consideration of the drafts by the upper chamber expire on June 27, 2001, whereupon they will be forwarded for signing to the President of Russia. However, the meeting of the Federation Council is scheduled for June 29 and, according to the preliminary agenda, the aforementioned drafts are “not subject to mandatory consideration by the Federation Council and are forwarded to the President of the RF without discussion at the 74th meeting of the chamber.”

In its address to the Federation Counci,l the Yabloko faction indicates that Yabloko knows about “the attempts of the nuclear lobby to debar the Federation Council from participation in decision-making on vital issues and on the forwarding of this package directly to the President.”

At the same time, Yabloko notes, the legislative executive authorities of over 30 subjects of the Russian Federation have already spoken out against approval of the “nuclear” laws.

The document states that there are grounds for thinking that “the depth of scientific and expert developments of the laws”, allowing for the import of spent nuclear fuel to Russia “does not comply with the scope of environmental, economic and financial risks related to their implementation.” In addition, the Yabloko faction stresses that: “the idea of turning Russia into an international nuclear burial ground is well-known, as is the extremely negative attitude of the majority of the Russian citizens to this idea.”

The Yabloko faction regards the adoption of this package of laws by the State Duma as an “irresponsible step” connected in particular, with the “inability of most deputies to understand state problems”.

See also:

Nuclear waste bill section of the web-site