Bürgerinitiativen schockiert:
Trauer um ermordeten russischen Atomkraftgegner

(Bonn / Gronau, 22.07.2007) Anti-Atomkraft-Initiativen in Deutschland sind schockiert über die Ermordung eines jungen russischen Atomkraftgegners. Der Ermordete war Bewohner eines Protestcamps im Bereich des Atomzentrums von Angarsk (Sibirien), das am Samstag (21.7.) brutal überfallen wurde. Bei dem Überfall wurde er tödlich verletzt, weitere Personen im Camp wurden ebenfalls verletzt. Die russische Umweltorganisation Ecodefense vermutet, dass es sich bei den Angreifern um Mitglieder faschistischer Organisationen gehandelt hat. In einer ersten Stellungnahme fragt Ecodefense: „Wenn die Polizei die Sicherheit der Bevölkerung nicht garantieren kann, wie kann dann die Sicherheit der Urananreicherungsanlage und des nuklearen Materials garantiert werden?“

Der Bundesverband Bürgerinitiativen Umweltschutz (BBU) e. V., der seit Jahren den Widerstand gegen Uranmülltransporte von der Urananreicherungsanlage im westfälischen Gronau in russische Atomzentren unterstützt, fordert von den zuständigen russischen Behörden die Aufklärung aller Hintergründe des Überfalls und die Bestrafung der Täter.

Die Mitglieder des Arbeitskreis Umwelt (AKU) Gronau, der eng mit der russischen Umweltorganisation Ecodefense zusammen arbeitet, sind entsetzt: „Gerade die Münsterländer Anti-Atomkraft-Bewegung hat gute Kontakte zu den russischen Atomkraftgegnerinnen und Atomkraftgegnern. Aktive des Aktionsbündnis Münsterland gegen Atomanlagen waren bereits zu gemeinsamen Protesten in Russland. Außerdem haben russische Freundinnen und Freunde mit uns vor den Urananreicherungsanlagen in Gronau und Almelo (NL) demonstriert. Unser Mitgefühl gilt jetzt den Verletzten und ganz besonders den Angehörigen des Ermordeten. Sein Tod erschüttert, darf uns aber nicht lähmen. Der Widerstand gegen die Urananreicherung muss weiter gehen, in Deutschland, in Russland und auch anderswo!“

Es folgt die Presseinformation von Ecodefense vom 21.7.2007:

Ecodefense
Moscow, July 21, 2007

ACTIVIST MURDERED NEAR THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR URANIUM ENRICHMENT IN ANGARSK, RUSSIA

Today one activist was murdered and several others seriously wounded in Angarsk, Russia, the hometown for International Center for Uranium Enrichment (ICEU). We deeply grieve about this tragedy and urge local authorities to put all possible efforts to identify and punish criminals responsible for the murder.

According to Ecodefense' own investigation, based on various information sources including statements from wounded activists, deadly attack was conducted by 15-20 Nazis (or activists of fascist organizations) which came to Angarsk from two other cities. Last week, group of 10-12 Russian anarchists and anti-fascists established camp in Angarsk as a symbol of protest to ICEU. This is our belief (shared by wounded anti-fascists) that the attack was not in any way related to the protest and nuclear issues. It was based on Nazi' abhorrence for anti-fascists.

Local police was questioning remaining campers whole day today and asked them to leave Angarsk (all of them came from other cities) saying they can not guarantee safety for the future. This is not clear right now if they leave or stay but all of their camping gear was taken away by police. Today local police already made announcement about catching 6 suspects. Even if evidence about Nazis are clear, police is trying to scale down the tragedy and said attackers were not with any organization, they were just hooligans and vandals.

Additionally, several Russian environmental groups were planning to set up the National anti-nuclear camp near Angarsk on July 26. This is not clear right now whether it will happen or not. Official statement is yet to come.

Tragedy is absolutely shoking and creates great concern over incompetence of local authorities to control situation. Taking into accoung that Russian authorities are putting efforts to establish ICEU in Angarsk, the tragedy poses very important question - if security for people can not be guaranteed even by the police, how can it be guaranteed for the uranium enrichment facility and nuclear materials?

For more information:
+7(985)7766281 or (903)2997584, Vladimir Slivyak
ecodefense@online.ru

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Environmental protester slain in Siberia: report

Updated Sat. Jul. 21 2007 7:49 AM ET

Associated Press

MOSCOW -- Attackers dressed in dark clothes and wielding metal pipes raided a camp of environmental protesters in Siberia early Saturday, leaving one dead and several injured, a spokeswoman for the local administration said.

Eight demonstrators were hospitalized after the attack, one of whom later died from his injuries, according to the spokeswoman for the Angarsk city administration, who was not authorized to give her name.

A criminal investigation had been opened in connection with the attack, she said.

More than 20 demonstrators had been camped out by a reservoir near Angarsk, about 2,600 miles east of Moscow, to protest nuclear waste processing at the state-owned Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant, Russian news agencies reported, citing local police.

Two suspects in the attack have been detained and 13 others identified, the RIA Novosti agency reported, citing a local police source.

Police spokesman Valery Gribakin was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as suggesting that theft had appeared to be a motive for the attack: Police had confiscated a rucksack and telephone from the detained that had belonged to the protesters, he said.

"Investigators are inclined to believe that the attack was motivated by hooliganism with the aim of stealing property," he said.

Angarsk is located about 60 miles from the southern tip of Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake and a symbol for some of Russia environmental heritage.

Russia is working to set up a uranium enrichment center at the electrolysis plant to enrich uranium from Kazakhstan -- a major uranium ore producer.

President Vladimir Putin proposed setting up the center in 2006 as a way to provide uranium fuel to nations intent on building nuclear power plants while making sure they don't develop weapons programs.

Enriched uranium supplied by the center would be made available only to countries which have undertaken the appropriate nonproliferation commitments. These would include a pledge of no use for nuclear explosive purposes and acceptance of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

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Russian environmentalists attacked, one killed
21 Jul 2007 11:08:38 GMT
Source: Reuters

MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - A Russian environmentalist was beaten to death and seven others wounded on Saturday when a group armed with iron bars and baseball bats attacked their camp near a nuclear waste processing plant in Siberia.

Russian media reported up to 15 people shouting fascist slogans attacked the environmentalists, who were living in the camp to protest against nuclear processing in the city of Angarsk near Lake Baikal, 5,000 km (3,125
miles) east of Moscow.

"One of the injured died in intensive care as a result of the attack," Ekho Moskvy radio station quoted one of the environmental activists, Olga Kozlova, as saying.

Another resident of the camp, Marina Popova, said the attackers shouted slogans against anti-fascists.

"From that we can conclude they were Nazis or skinheads", she told the
Vesti-24 television channel, blood seeping through a bandage wrapped around her head.

Environmentalists have not previously been the target of violent attacks in Russia, where skinhead gangs have assaulted and killed people from ethnic and religious minority groups in the past.

Itar-Tass news agency said the man killed on Saturday was a 20-year-old from the far eastern port city of Nakhodka.

Thirteen attackers had been identified and four had already been arrested, said Interior Ministry spokesman Valery Gribakin.

"Those arrested denied any involvement with any extremist youth group,"
Gribakin was quoted by Ekho Moskvy as saying.