Pyatigorsk authorities ban action "Stop cutting Mashuk!"

The authorities of the city of Pyatigorsk have banned the protest action "Stop cutting Mashuk!" that was to be held on November 27. As a result, the people who gathered in front of the city administration held a meeting and adopted an open letter to Russian President, where they ask to prohibit the launched construction works and stop further destruction of the nature on Mount Mashuk.

"When we gathered in front of the administration, law enforcement officials appeared and banned the protest action. They showed us a letter of November 25 signed by some administration official reading that the rally was not coordinated with the authorities and is considered to be unsanctioned," Mikhail Parshin, an activist of the initiative group, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Evgeniy Lazarenko, another activist of the initiative group "Solar Patrol", due to the actions of the administration and law enforcers of the city, instead of the planned rally, a meeting of the opponents to "cutting Mashuk" took place.

"All in all, there were some 400-500 persons, who began coming since the morning. Officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) were persuading people to home, saying that there would be no rally, since it was not sanctioned by the authorities. As a result, we only held a meeting, where we began collecting signatures to the petition addressed to President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Presidential Plenipotentiary for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) Alexander Khloponin," said Lazarenko.

"We ask you to send a commission to the specially protected eco-resort region KMV (Caucasian Mineral Waters) to conduct a total audit of the activities of supervisory and state bodies in the environmental sphere. We are sick and tired of the lawlessness; that is why on November 27, 2011, we gathered for our peaceful protest rally in front of the city administration. However, the rally was suppressed by MIA agents, despite the confirmation by the court of its legality," says the petition.