Translated material
Stop cut
Defenders of the Khimki Forest are preparing for a meeting with the police
Apparently, it will not be possible to avoid a forceful solution to the dispute between the defenders of the Khimki Forest and the federal authorities, who are the customers of the new Moscow-St. Petersburg highway. The fact that independent environmentalists, who have been on duty for a week at the site where tree felling has begun, will soon have to fight not with woodcutters-guest workers, but with the police, became clear at yesterday’s press conference of the general contractor and representatives of the Federal State Institution “Roads of Russia”, who once again once they made it clear that they were acting according to the law and were not going to compromise with the “greens”.Acting General Director of the Federal State Institution “Roads of Russia” Andrei Zhuravlev and Director of the contracting organization “Teplotekhnik” Alexander Semchenko based their entire communication with the press on demonstrating their obedience to the law and discrediting activists of the Movement in Defense of the Khimki Forest, “unlawfully hindering construction work.” Mr. Zhuravlev noted that all permitting documents regulating the rules for carrying out construction work in the forest belt had long been received, and “it was not at all necessary to stir up a scandal.” At the same time, Mr. Semchenko, speaking about the rights of his organization to work in the forest, recalled that the construction of a toll backup for the Leningradskoye Highway was approved at the highest level and the route will pass where planned by the White House. “The main document that we received and which gives us the right to act in this territory is an order of the Russian government signed by Putin,” said Mr. Semchenko, clarifying that it was the federal authorities who transferred 144 hectares of the Khimki forest in 2009 from the category of forest lands to industrial and transport lands.
According to the director of Teplotekhnik LLC, the claims of environmentalists, who have been demanding logging tickets from contractors for a week now, are unfounded, since the land of the Khimki forest is federal, not city. “When these lands became transport lands, Rosavtodor, acting as the owner, by its order transferred the right to develop the territory to the customer of the route, the Federal State Institution “Roads of Russia”. Based on this order, we received the right to cut down trees in a strictly designated area,” said Mr. Semchenko. He also noted that, despite the active opposition of environmentalists, work on cutting down trees stopped only in the place where the “green” camp is located; in other places, felling is in full swing. “We haven’t stopped for a single day, we are working simultaneously on five sections along the entire territory of the 11-kilometer section of the road, but by agreement we are not going into conflict with local residents who are preventing us from working, hoping that this issue will be resolved by itself or law enforcement agencies will intervene,” said Semchenko, explaining the rush by the fact that by September 1, 2010, Teplotekhnik must hand over the territory for construction.
Representatives of the Movement in Defense of the Khimki Forest could be convinced of the veracity of Mr. Semchenko’s words on Wednesday. Two days ago, near the intersection of the International Highway and the exit from Terminal D of Sheremetyevo Airport, they discovered a freshly cut clearing. According to forest defenders, the new logging area is about 200 m wide and a kilometer long, and the work is being carried out, as before, by guest workers and without permits.
Let us remind you that the first trees of the Khimki forest were cut down on the night of July 14-15. Then, several dozen Asian guest workers cut down, according to the “greens,” about two hectares of forest, but were unable to continue the felling, since they were caught by nature defenders in the morning. Activists of the Movement for the Protection of the Khimki Forest promised to protect the trees, and spent the next week communicating with representatives of contractors and security guards, demanding from them permits and, in particular, felling tickets, which give the right to cut down green spaces in the city territory. However, contrary to promises, environmentalists have not received any paperwork from the contractors and, most likely, will not receive any.
Meanwhile, the “greens” are no longer limited to the camp protest, but are trying to raise the problem of the Khimki Forest to the federal level. Yesterday, forest defenders, together with the Left Front movement, tried to hold a civil rally near the White House, but were predictably detained by police officers. Law enforcement officers did not like the fact that, after making a speech, the activists began dragging logs with the inscription “firewood from the Khimki forest” to the doors of the government building reception.
At the same time, it is obvious that activists will soon have to defend the forest in the fight against a much more serious assault by law enforcement officers. “We have already written a statement to the local police department and the prosecutor’s office so that they allow us to fulfill our contractual obligations,” Andrei Zhuravlev warned yesterday. According to him, disruption of the work schedule will cause serious losses to the state, which is entrusted with the responsibility to prepare the land for construction.
The coordinator of the Union of Environmental Public Organizations of Moscow, Andrei Morgulev, did not rule out a violent development of events. In a conversation with a Vremya Novostei correspondent, the ecologist admitted that the situation had reached a dead end. “What can you negotiate with them? I think that everything is heading towards the fact that they will start to survive us by force,” noted the forest defender.