The citizens of Kharkov, call the attention of the global community to the barbaric and cynical actions of Kharkov city authorities directed both on extermination of the city green belt and on violation of basic human rights. Could it be possible in democratic country that excavator lowered the scoop right onto the feet of peaceful citizens who protect their Municipal park, holding it there for 3 – 4 minutes??? And that nobody punished for the crimes against of local protesters?
Dear friends,
I'm, Anja Gerashchenko, the volunteer of orphanage house for handicapped kids, writing on behalf of Ukrainian human rights and environmental organizations to ask you to help publicize a thoroughly brazen attack by the Kharkov authorities on peaceful protesters. If you could help either with publishing this or spreading information all over the world to your friends, I and my friends, who takes part in protest action would be enormously grateful! Because the Kharkiv authorities have behaved with total lawlessness letting them get away with it will convince them they can crush any reasonable protest with impunity. I could swear then thought we are asking for help all well-known politics and politician groups, there is nothing common with political issue. All we want is keep the green zone alive in the name of our kids and future generation.
Starting from May 20th, 2010 Kharkov municipal authorities proceed with the scandal deforestation of our city. Under different pretexts, they ceded vast areas in Kharkov Forest called Lesopark, Gorky park, Artem park and the whole area of Zustrich park to business corporations and individuals. Moreover, this squandering process is constantly gathering pace.
Officials began a brutal devastation of the vast Kharkov Forest territories under the pretext of building a road. The aim of this project is apparent: to allocate the great territory of Gorky park and then of the Children’s Railway area for building of ‘elite’ houses and various malls for the same ‘elite’.
Hundreds of trees were fallen in the course of the cutting without any approval from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. In view of this fact, these activities are illegal and constitute a crime.
Still, the worst thing about the situation is the authorities’ unwillingness to listen to common citizens.
At 4 a.m. on 25 May around 100 police officers escorted the workmen into the park and encircled the area. There were about 20 activists keeping vigil. They tried to protect the trees with their bodies, but were dragged away and beaten by police officers. This can all be viewed here
Even more disturbing were the events of 27 and 28 May. At around 4 a.m. on Thursday, an excavator entered the area and its driver lowered the scoop right onto the feet of activists, holding it there for 3 – 4 minutes. An ambulance was called, as well as the traffic police. The ambulance took several activists to hospital, one, lawyer Oleksandr Solovyov, with concussion. The traffic police did not turn up at all. See here
The scene on Friday morning, at around 7 a.m. must be viewed to be believed, and even then it’s no easy matter. Around 50 men of athletic build, with badges saying “municipal security” can be seen entering the area, having passed a considerable number of police officers. The strongmen, armed with their badges and muscles, formed a chain and began brutally pushing the tree defenders out, beating some of them. The muscles speak for themselves, not so the badges, and the men when asked can provide no identification or authority from an entirely unknown “municipal security” department.
What is much more baffling is why the police when they finally responded to the protesters’ calls for help detained 10 of the bodybuilders’ victims, i.e. those defending the trees. Those protesters, and later another three, including one representative of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, were taken to the police station. They have been charged under Article 185 of the Code of Administrative Offences (refusing to obey a police officer) despite total lack of resistance shown to anybody except some unnamed thugs with badges from an anonymous municipal service.
Those detained were held in the police station for 8 hours. Lawyer from the Kharkiv Human Rights Group [KHPG], Arkady Bushchenko, therefore asked that the court hearing be adjourned until Monday, since the detained park defenders were in no state to answer questions, and time was needed to become familiar with the material.
It should be stressed, and can, in fact, be seen clearly from the video, that none of the protesters showed resistance to the police. KHPG, which is representing the park defenders, has reason to believe that the authorities are planning to present fictitious witnesses who will assert that they saw resistance. It is to be hoped that they view the video footage before asserting anything so transparently false, and there are plenty of witnesses who can confirm the contrary.
Kharkiv journalists have issued a statement in solidarity with journalist colleagues injured in the course of their work, while the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, uniting 29 prominent human rights groups, including KHPG, has issued an open appeal to the Prosecutor General. Formal complaints have been registered over police behaviour and representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came from Kyiv on Saturday to take statements.
Kharkov dwellers desperately need recreational zones and fresh air. On the contrary, Kharkov authorities need a chance to steal several dozens of millions allocated for the road construction; they need new lots for cottages, VIP-clubs and private entertainment centers in place of cutdown age-old trees.
Contrary to the officials’ doublespeak, this construction bears no relation to Euro-2012. European countries have distinctly different standards and attitudes to green belts, especially to city parks, while Kharkov green belts, even Gorky Recreation and Entertainment Park, do not even have approved boundaries.
Kharkov community demands the City Council and Kharkov Executive Committee to:
1. Cancel the shameful decisions on devastation of a part of Gorky Central Park, Shevchenko Garden and Kharkov Forest.
2. Define the boundaries of all green zones in Kharkov.
3. Impose an absolute and permanent moratorium on any cession of Kharkov green zones and on their destruction under any pretext.
However, our demands are vain without assistance of the global community. In view of this fact we ask you to examine the situation in Kharkov and to help us in our struggle for the future of our city.
Please send a letter of protest to:
the Kharkiv Major Gennady Kernes
Konstitutsiya Square 7, Kharkov 61000, Ukraine
and to:
The President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich
Bankovaya Str. 11, Kiev 01220, Ukraine
We will also appreciate if you repost this information to your friends or ecological and humanitarian organization.
See also:
http://www.kharkovforest.com/appeal-to-the-world
http://www.kharkovforest.com/home/save-kharkov-forest
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=127357537288651
http://www.khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1275295920
http://www.khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1275295920
http://eng.maidanua.org/node/1085
http://wwf.panda.org/uk/?193789/Kharkiv-forest-campaign
