On January 28, 2010 the police of the Irkutsk region without
any rulings of the court or public prosecutor blocked the
work of the largest public organisation engaged in protection
of the Lake Baikal – The Baikal Ecological Wave – confiscating
their computers under the pretext of a check whether this
organisation had been using licensed software. However, the
representatives of the interior refused even to look at the
certificates of the software submitted to them. The ecologists
who tried to disobey confiscation of their computers were
threatened with legal persecution in view of “attacking the
police”.
The YABLOKO party expresses its resolute protest in view
of such actions of the interior and considers them as a awkward
attempt to shut down the wave of public discontent in view
of the adoption by the Government of the RF of a resolution
allowing to resume functioning of the Baikal Pulp Plant that
have been polluting Baikal with its waste, as well as stored,
buried and burnt hazardous waste on the banks of the lake.
Such governmental decision was adopted in satisfaction of
short-term interests of the owner of the plant – a definite
tycoon, and contradicts Russia’s interests.
The Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO supports The
Baikal Ecological Wave, all the Russian and international
organisations engaged in protection of the Lake Baikal – the
world pearl and a global storage of fresh water – and fighting
for cancellation of the Resolution of the RF Government No
1 “On Introduction of Changes into the List of Activities
Prohibited in the Central Ecological Zone of the Baikal Natural
Territory” of January 13, 2010.
The Government that has to protect the interests of the citizens
and ensure their safety should adopt measures for efficient
support of organisations acting for protection of Russia’s
nature and ecological rights of the citizens, prevent and
restrain provocations against such organisations and investigate
of the police action in Irkutsk against The Baikal Ecological
Wave.
Sergei Mitrokhin
Chairman of the party
See also:
YABLOKO
for Environmental Safety
| 