Picket held in Essentuki against Vladikavkaz "Electrozink"

On April 21, the members of the initiative group "Electrozink. Do we breathe?" in the website "Odnoklassniki.Ru" conducted a picket in the city of Essentuki with the aim to draw attention of the public and power bodies of the Russian Federation to the problem of poisoning of residents of Northern Caucasus with emissions of the "Electrozink" Factory, operating in North Ossetia.

According to German Kulaev, an activist of the group, on their way to Essentuki activists were stopped, without any explanations by inspectors of the STSI (State Traffic Safety Inspectorate) and kept for some time at the Kirov ROVD; their driver did not wait for them and left.

"Initially, there were some 20 of us. When we left Vladikavkaz, we were stopped by an STSI patrol car. The grounds were far-fetched. At first they said that had exceeded the speed limit, but that was not the case. Then we were told that the engine serial number should be verified, but it was not done; then they started demanding explanatory notes from us on where we were going and why. Our driver was taken to some other room; they talked to him, and he left us. We had to take taxis in Elkhotovo village and continue our way. Finally, only 8 persons out of 20 reached Essentuki," Mr Kulaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by telephone.

Attempts to receive any comments of law enforcement bodies of the region on the incident failed; however, according to Kulaev, he "called to Moscow to the service of own security of the STSI and Prosecutor's Offices of North Ossetia and Kirov Region." "They promised us by phone to contact the boss of their militia and clear out," he added.

He also said that initially they wanted to hold their picket in the park zone of the city, but they were not allowed with reference to architectural monuments located there. As a result, the picket was held in the pre-station mini-park in Essentuki. According to Kulaev, "there was many compatriots and city residents there" who supported them. "They said that they know these problems, and they also face them," he said.

The group members also said that they demand suspension of the factory operation until they build a properly arranged sanitary-protective zone.