A-Infos (en) Russia, A call to radical ecological protest camp in Angarsk, Irkutsk region of Siberia

In summer of 2006, during summit of the G8, Russian president Vladimir Putin 
promised that Russia will join to international program to spread nuclear 
energy. Russia's role in this project is to be a storage of nuclear waste. 
Electro-Chemical Industrial Complex of Angarsk (AEHK) was founded 1954, it is 
located in South-Eastern border of the city of Angarsk, 30 kilometers from 
Irkutsk and 90 kilometers from lake Baikal. It is a company involved in nuclear 
fuel cycle, processing concentrate including Uranium to Uranium hexafluoride 
(UF6), which in turn is enriched to Uranium-235 for the Nuclear Industry. 
Complex is under administration of Rosatom, Russian Federal Agency on Atom 
Energy. AEHK is far from uranium mines, nuclear plants and other parts of the 
nuclear fuel cycle, thus both raw materials and final products of the company 
will be transferred by the Trans-Siberian railway. Transport of the radioactive 
materials means additional risks for the people and environment.
Accidents involving trains with radioactive substances may result serious
pollution of the region. Products of AEHK are sent through all biggest
Siberian cities  to distant factories which produce nuclear fuel for nuclear
power plants in the city of Elektrostal in Moscow Region, and
Ust-Kamenogorsk in Sverdlovsk region, as well as abroad.

> From 1996-2002 AEHK brought in nuclear waste, claimed to be valuable raw
materials, from Urenco-corporation. Currently import of new waste is halted,
but already imported waste is stored in the premises of the company, and
amount of the waste is not announced as it is a "commercial secret".

Currently plans are drafted to found an International Center for Enrichment
of Uranium (MTsOU) to premises of AEHK. Main goal of the centre is to answer
to demand of Uranium enrichment of companies abroad. Actually this means,
that a new storage of nuclear waste is set up to premises of the company,
but its contents are called "valuable raw-materials" in newspeak of the
nuclear industry.

Since December of 2006, three public protest meetings have taken place in
Irkutsk. Pickets have been organized during several months in the center of
the city. In Angarsk, during a meeting between AEHK and IAEA, local
activists, radical ecologists and anarchists showed up with a banner
"Angarsk is not a nuclear dump", made speeches in front of journalists and
voiced their protest against this project.

Project is initiated by President of the Russian Federation, government of
the Russian Federation represented by Ministry of the Nuclear Energy
Rosatom, administration of the Irkutsk region, board of AEHK, administration
of the city of Angarsk, mainstream media of Angarsk (first of all local
pro-industry paper "Podrobnosti") and a number of right-wing liberal
parties.

Project is opposed by Baikal Movement, Baikal Ecological Wave, Autonomous
Action of Irkutsk, local paper "Vremya" (Time) and ecologists from other
regions. Ecological protest camp is organized by Baikal Ecological Wave and
Autonomous Action of Irkutsk.

We are against nuclear energy as a whole, and we demand giving up
exploitation of all nuclear energy, a transfer to economy of energy and to
development of alternative sources of energy. We are against importing
nuclear waste and against creation of an International Center for Enrichment
of Uranium, we demand public ecological control over activities of the
company.

Goal of the camp will also be to involve people from other regions
surrounding Baikal to defend environment of the lake, and empowerment of the
ecological movement of the Siberia and anti-nuclear movement in the whole
world.

Protest camp will start 15th of July and it will last until victory.

You are welcome to join the camp! We may not cover traveling costs, but food
will be free in the camp for those who may not afford it. Bring cutlery,
sleeping bag and a tent if you have one.

Contact us if you need any more information:


Ecological Wave of Baikal
P.O. Box 21
664033 Irkutsk
phone: +7 3952 52 58 69
fax: +7 3952 52 58 70
e-mail: marina<A>baikalwave.eu.org


Autonomous Action of Irkutsk:
ogopogos<A>gmail.com, http://www.avtonom-irk.mahost.org

(from http://avtonom.org/index.php?nid=1072)
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