Feature story - 24 July, 2007
An ecological camp was attacked near Angarsk, where construction of an international center for recycling radioactive waste is planned.
An ecological camp near Angarsk (foto: http://avtonom.org)
The camp
participants were beaten, and their equipment was burned. According to the mass
media, one activist was killed, and another eight were severely hurt and
brought to hospital. The attackers were reported to possibly be members of a
nationalist group. However, the police have already announced that the
attackers did not belong to any extremist groups.
"We
are indignant at what happened in the ecological camp near Angarsk. We
express our support to our colleagues who have become victims of bandits. This
is the first case of its kind to occur over the last twenty years in our
country", says Ivan Blokov, Greenpeace Russia campaign
director. "Unfortunately, murders of ecologists still happen, such attacks
take place in Africa and Latin America and are
related to timber logging controlled by criminal organizations. The latter
literally terminates those who disagree with them".
It's
highly unlikely that the attack was motivated by robbery. According to the
participants of the camps reported in the mass media, police warned ecologists
about a possible attack by extremists the day before during an examination of
the camp. "We hope that the incident will be thoroughly investigated, and
we will follow all developments."
Greenpeace plans to request that the
General Prosecutor's office monitor the investigation into the tragedy near Angarsk.