Greenpeace - Making Waves: "Environmentalists Beaten, One Dead"

Masked attackers armed with metal rods and baseball bats raided a camp of environmental protesters near an east Siberian uranium enrichment plant over the weekend, beating one person to death and injuring several others.

[Photo from Indymedia.]

The attack appeared to be linked to simmering hostilities between local nationalist and anti-fascist groups. But it is bound to stoke worries about a resurgence of nationalist groups, as well as the work of nongovernmental organizations critical of the government.
About 15 darkly dressed attackers stormed the camp of 25 activists in a woodland clearing near the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex at about 5 a.m. Saturday, said one of activists who was on night patrol at the time.

"I tried to wake everybody up so we could start a coordinated defense," said the activist, Maxim, 21, who refused to give his last name because he said police had asked the activists not to speak to the media.

Shouting nationalist slogans, the attackers knocked down tents and dragged out activists before beating them with metal rods, baseball bats and sticks, Maxim said, speaking on a friend's cell phone because the attackers stole his.

One activist, Ilya Borodayenko, 26, died of severe head injuries in a hospital a few hours later.

Indymedia UK has links to photos and info about how you can help. From what I've read, there are three organizations involved in the protest camp: Baikal Environmental Wave, Autonomous Action and Defending the Rainbow (no relation to Greenpeace and I couldn't find their website, please post a comment if you have their web address).

From the Baikal Wave website:

RosAtom (the state agency for Russia’s nuclear industry) has plans to establish an International Uranium Enrichment Centre (IUEC) at the Angarsk uranium enrichment plant (AUEP) to supply fuel to Russian and other nuclear power stations. AUEP is within the boundaries of the town of Angarsk, 30 km. from Irkutsk and 100 km. from Lake Baikal, with neither a buffer safety area nor radiation-control zone.

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Please help:

In a story today in the Chicago Tribune, it has been reported that EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson sees "nothing wrong with the permit Indiana regulators awarded in June to BP, the first company in years allowed to increase the amount of toxic chemicals pumped into the Great Lakes."

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Sending such a powerful message doesn't come cheap. It will cost $20,000 to place the ad in the Tribune. To BP such an expense would be a drop in the bucket. Being the world's fourth largest corporation, it's been easy for them to spend money hand over fist in past few weeks, buying ads all over the Great Lakes trying to muddy the water on their toxic dumping plan. For us to fight back, we need your help.

You can make a donation today of $25, $35, $50, $100 or more to make sure that BP can see in black and white that their plan to increase dumping must stop. To fight back against BP's plan to pollute our lake, click on the link below or copy and paste it into your browser:

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Sincerely,

Mike Shriberg
Environment Michigan Director
MikeS@environmentmichigan.org
http://www.environmentmichigan.org

Posted by: Andy Flynn | August 2, 2007 5:50 AM