GREENPEACE URGES PUTIN TO VETO NUCLEAR WASTE IMPORTS

28 June 2001

Moscow - Thirty Greenpeace activists were arrested today after mounting a protest in Russia's Red Square calling on President Putin to overturn parliamentary approval of changes to the countries environmental law which pave the way for vast radioactive waste imports. The activists unfurled banners in front of the Lenin Mausoleum saying "President: Stop the nuclear invasion!".

Yesterday, in contravention of the law, the Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stroyev signed the amendments and passed them on for Putin's final approval without debate and agreement from the Council. Law amendments which have relevance for the Customs authorities require formal approval by the Federation Council under the Russian constitution.

"It's now Putin's choice to be remembered as the president who opened the Russian gates for deadly waste imports or as a protector of Russia," said Tobias Muenchmeyer of Greenpeace.

According to an opinion poll commissioned by Greenpeace and published today, 79.5 percent of the Russian population wants President Putin to block nuclear waste imports.

"After the rejection, earlier this year, of one quarter of the 2,5 million signatures calling for a referendum against radioactive waste imports, the bypassing of the plenary of the Federation Council is yet another undemocratic act. There is no public support for the plan which is exclusively in the interest of those corrupt structures, that hope to make money with this dirty business," said Muenchmeyer.

The permission for importing radioactive waste, being promoted by the cash-strapped Nuclear Ministry, Minatom, will turn Russia into the world's nuclear waste dump. Minatom wants to bring in up to 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from countries including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Germany and Spain over the next ten years - in contracts worth up to $21 billion.

Tobias Muenchmeyer, Greenpeace's expert on Russian nuclear issues, was declared persona non grata by the Russian Foreign Ministry in December 1999 and has been banned from entering Russia ever since. No reason has been given why Muenchmeyer is not allowed to enter Russia anymore, except that it "is in the interest of state security" to deny him a visa. Greenpeace is campaigning to overturn this undemocratic decision which strikes at the heart of free speech.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Tobias Muenchmeyer, Nuclear Campaigner, Greenpeace International in Berlin, Tel: +49 170 86 66 052;
Ivan Blokov, Greenpeace Russia, Tel: +7 095 257 41 22