Most of the participators came from distant suburb of Zakamsk, where dismantling of rockets is planned. GAI traffic police attempted to block buses carrying demonstrators, but Zakamsk inhabitants in buses threated to blockade only bridge of the city over river Kama, and police was forced to pass them through. In 11 PM, when most of the participators of the meeting had left, OMON special forces used brutal force to arrest blockaders of the administration. 18 persons were taken to police station of Lenin district.
Participators of the protest demanded halting program of dismantling ballistic missiles in Perm.
Background of the problem.
In accordance with international disarmament treaties, Russia has to build certain amount of factories to dismantle old missile engines and their fuel, in practice this is done with American technology and money. Not that we have anything against disarmament, but this must be done taking into account health and welfare of local people, which currently seem to have no any value whatsoever to military-industrial complex. 3 years ago in Votkinsk, they failed in an attempt, to build missile dismantling plant 8 kilometres from a city with 100 000 inhabitants, this
time, according to plans, a similar extremely dangerous object is planned to be located right into 100 000 inhabitant suburb of a city with more than one million inhabitants! Officially, no one admits that project in Perm will replace Votkinsk project, which is currently freezed. In practice, missiles planned to be dismantled in Perm are the same which were planned to be dismantled in Votkinsk. Actually this is already 3rd round of the fight, Votkinsk factory was originally planned to be located to Perm, but in late nineties these plans had to be cancelled due to local protests!
FGUP Perm Factory Mashinostroitel has been given a license to be leading company in Russia in field of dismantling missiles using solid fuel, most importantly SS-22 “Scalpel” missiles which have flight radius of 10 000 kilometres and each of which may carry 20 nuclear warheads of 550 kilotons (46 times Hiroshima bomb). Missiles to be dismantled do not have nuclear warheads anymore, and although missile corpuses are also slightly radioactive main problem is the extremely poisonous fuel they are loaded with. They plan to build a site inside factory of S.M. Kirov, which currently both builds and tests engines of strategic missiles.
Mashinostroitel decided to fulfil its task with means of anti-ecological direct action, considering necessary permissions and environmental impact assesments as a waste of time.
American funding, given in the framework of 13-year-old Lugar-Nunn legislation is very crucial for realisation of the project. Actually regional powers have already wasted lions share of the money given 7 years ago already, and currently social budget has to be shrinked in order to have project finally realised and not to have Americans asking to whose pocket this money ended up back then. Money is channeled through transnational Washington Group International (http://www.wgint.com/). They are a huge corporation, operating in more than 30 countries with 26000 employers. American Congressman Richard Lugar himself visited Perm last autumn.
Dismantling missiles having solid fuel happens in temperature of 3500 degrees of Celsius, according to Russian and American specialists poisonous dioxins will form in cooling stream of gas during the process. Even smallest doses of dioxins are poisonous; they easily accumulate in
food chain, hurt embryos and cause cancer. They are chemically stable, and stay lethally dangerous during several decades. Technology for seif utilisation of missile engines using solid fuels just does not exist.
Goal of the protest camp is a total revoke of criminal program to utilise rocket engines and their fuel in Perm. Protest camp will last until decisive victory, or at least until beginning of the September.
Protest camp is organised by Anarcho-Ecological Resistance of Perm, Union for Chemical Safety, Autonomous Action, Yekaterinburg Movement Against Violence and Rainbow Keepers.
Additional information and pictures: [email]lager_perm@mail.ru[/email], [url=http://www.avtonom.org,]www.avtonom.org,[/url] [url=http://www.perm.indymedia.ru]www.perm.indymedia.ru[/url]
P?oceedings against those arrested in Perm, Russia will begin this morning (11th of August) at 9.00 local time (4.00 GMT) in police station of Lenin district. Right now 13 of the arrested are in jail for violators of administrative codex (Geroev Hasan street 47v), whereas 3 juvenile offenders were sent to “center for social adaptation”. Father of Juvenile Igor Volkov, who was kicked to stomach during arrest took his son from police station. Roman Yushkov, Yuri Bobrov and Aleksandr Lashmakin were given electric shocks by OMON scum. Police gives contradictory information on if tortured were given medical aid or not, however people who brought food to arrested saw a doctor in the center.
No matter tough pressure, arrested who were transferred to jail overnight were high in spirits, shouting “You violate our rights!”, “We are not afraid of grey cops!” and “Fascists!”. Journalist Gleb Edelev was freed after one hour of arrest.
Phone of Lenin district police station: +7-3422 -12-61-06