A callout for global day of actions against building new nuclear power plant in Belarus

international | environment | other press Wednesday January 14, 2009 22:40 by Piufiu

This is a callout for a day of global actions against first nuclear power plant in Belarus, the people of which suffered the most after chernobyls nuclear disaster.

A callout for common actions against the construction of a new nuclear
power plant in Belarus. 26 April – the day of Chernobyl nuclear disaster

Present-day Belarus is a post-soviet country with police state. Current
neoliberal regime holds strong positions. For already 14 years the country
is run by one and the same person – Alexander Lukashenka, who used to be a
populist, but now is openly pursuing antisocial reforms.

Fundamental political freedoms - of speech, of the press, of assembly -
are not recognized in our country. Political opposition, independent trade
unions and non-governmental organizations are suppressed. Political
trials, preventive detentions, dispersions of peaceful gatherings – all
this has become a norm of political practice in Belarus.

A few years ago the ruling top started to consider another venturesome
project – the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP). Lukashenka took
a decision regardless of the public wishes and common sense. The decision
was made with the active support of the international nuclear lobby. The
construction is to be undertaken by a Russian corporation “Rosatom”. It is
to be held in a seismically active zone, in several dozens kilometers away
from Lake Naroch – the largest lake in Belarus, which is ecologically
unique for our country and is a tourist attraction. On the construction $4
billion will be spent, which otherwise could be outlaid for development of
alternative energetics.

But the above-listed points pale before the fact that Belarus shared 70%
of radioactive contamination after Chernobyl nuclear accident. But the
government and the president are absolutely not concerned about that. They
want to create a delayed-action bomb in the country, where one third of
the territory is unfit for farming and most other activities.

We, “Antinuclear resistance”, an anarchist group, come out against nuclear
power industry as a whole and against the NPP construction specifically in
Belarus. A part of political forces in Belarus, including some
'oppositional' parties, supported the NPP construction. Unlike them we do
not believe in NPP safety irrespective of the political regime, within
which it is functioning and being constructed. Our activity is based upon
non-authoritarian principles, we do not cooperate with any political
parties, but we are eager to cooperate with ecological organizations and
grassroots initiatives.

On 26 April, the day of memory about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, an
annual demonstration “Charnobylski Shliah” (“The Chernobyl Path”) takes
place in Minsk in commemoration of the accident and the people who became
the immediate and lingering victims of it. Starting with the year of 1996
anarchists take part in the demo with ecological and antinuclear slogans.
But nowadays the
demonstration, instead of just mourning and commemorative event, is
gaining a protest mood: in the country, where dozens of thousands people
have died as a result of the nuclear accident aftermaths and hundreds of
thousands have acquired accident-caused illnesses or become handicapped, a
new NPP is to be constructed! And that is done according to the common
practice of an authoritarian police state – not asking the people’s
opinion, but just confronting them with the fact.

On 26 April we will again take a most active part in the “Charnobylski
Shliah”, we’ll try to pass along to everyone our clear antinuclear
position, will inform as many people as possible of the approaching
danger. But now it is not enough! As an instrument of struggle against the
state lawlessness we rely on the international support.

We urge anarchists, environmentalists and all people of the world to carry
out solidarity actions on 26 April 2009. We call for a decentralized day
of action of any form, which could help people learn something about our
problem and stop the impudent authority and their sponsors from IAEA.

If you already take actions on 26 April on your local problems concerning
nuclear power engineering, please put on your list the demand for
abolition of the NPP construction in Belarus. You are also welcome to
participate in “The Chernobyl Path” in Minsk and other actions in Belarus.

Together we will be able to stand up for the right for life on a clean and
ecologically safe planet!

If you have any intention to make solidarity actions with the Belarusian
antinuclear movement or participate in the demonstration in Belarus please
contact us:

http://www.belarus.antiatom.org
antiatombel [at] riseup.net

Spread the callout through any accessible for you information channels.