Movement against violence
Rainbow Keepers movement
Socio-Ecological Union of Western Caucasus
PROTEST CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE CONSTRUCTION OF AMMONIA
RELOADING TERMINAL ON TAMAN PENINSULA
<August 12, 2002>
ABOUT EVENTS ON TAMAN PENINSULA
As reported before, in August 10, 2002 near the resort of Volna (Temruk district of Krasnodar Territory) a protest meeting against the construction of an ammonia reloading terminal realized by Toglyattiazot chemical corporation took place. The meeting became the first protest action hold in the framework of the public campaign against the ammonia terminal construction on Taman peninsula. At the meeting the activists adopted the following resolution, in which the demands of the participants in the campaign are exposed:
RESOLUTION
Adopted at the protest meeting against the construction of the liquefied ammonia reloading terminal on Taman peninsula
(Adopted on the 10th of August, 2002)
We, representatives of the ecological protest camp, Cossacks, holiday-makers, initiative groups of Taman peninsula inhabitants, express our emphatic protest against the construction on Taman peninsula a liquefied ammonia reloading terminal.
We are sure, that the unstable ground is not a likely base for liquefied ammonia storage.
The land that can become the all-Russian resort is not a convenient place for the construction of the development that risks becoming a chemical Tchernobyl.
The destruction of cultural, natural and geological monuments is a barbarity that cannot be justified and the future cannot be an object for purchase and sale.
We demand from the authorities of Toglyattiazot Corporation and Administration of Temruk district immediate stopping of the construction.
If on the expiry of seven days our demands will not be satisfied, we will consider as our right passing on to more radical actions!
Thus, the participants of the public campaign, in fact, declared an ultimatum to Toglyattiazot corporation and Temruk district administration, on the expire of which they will consider their right to pass to direct actions.
As reported before, after the meeting two girls, participants of the protest camp, were illegally detained. One of them, Victoria Kucherenko, who was detained the first, was subjected to a strong pressure during several hours when she was conveyed to Taman village police department by the policemen of this department (the department chief's name is Katchan M.M.). Profiting by her lack of experience (the girl got in the police for the first time), the policemen uttered insolent threats in order to intimidate her into leaving the protest camp, as a result of what she was badly stressed. The given actions severely violate "Law on Police", as well as police regulations, and bring dishonor on Russian police (now there is no doubt that Taman policemen have no their professional honor). Instead of fighting against criminals, they are eager to spend their whole "official" fervor on struggle against helpless people, who have come to save Taman from a great danger, hanging over its inhabitants and nature.
SEU of Western Caucasus (interregional department of International Socio-ecological Union), the members of which are the detained girls, shall take all the measures for excessively zealous policemen were punished.
Late at night the girls were conveyed from Taman village to Temruk district department of internal affairs. Nevertheless, after a Radio Russia reporter, a representative of International SEU and Temruk Cossack ataman called up to the department of internal affairs and the police officers felt that the detention of the activists could grow into a great scandal, they decided not to aggravate the situation. And in the middle of the night the girls were conveyed by car back to Taman village in the headquarters of the protest campaign.
In the evening of the 10th August Toglyattiazot employees visited the protest camp, set up not far from Volna village. First they proposed to pay great sums to the participants of the camp for stopping the protest campaign, then, having seen that this method did not work, they passed on to menace frankly the environmental activists.
According to the last news on the 11th and 12th August there have not been any incidents around the protest camp.
(Information provided by Maykop headquarters of the campaign)
Contacts:
Campaign headqurters in Taman:
Tel.: (86148)3-14-71
Address: Taman, Lermontov Street, 1
e-mail: dpnrk@e-mail.ruContacts in Taman, in the case you cannot get in touch with the headquarters
Maykov Gennady Grigoryevitch, Chief if Taman okrug administration, Cossack ataman.
Tel.: (86148)31-3-60 (home)
Matirnaya Irina Georgievna, President of Taman village women
council. Tel.: : (86148)3-22-19 (home); 902-46-72-519 (portable)
Campaign headquarters in Maykop:
tel: (87722)4-36-52
e-mail: ies@mail.ru