MOSCOW, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Several environmental protesters
representing the Republic of Guinea were arrested today for attempting to
enter by force the headquarters of metals conglomerate United Company Rusal.
The 35-person delegation from the Society of Guineans Abroad was blocked by
Rusal security personnel and police before members could deliver an open
letter to the company's chief executives demanding that the aluminum giant
clean up after its environmental violations in the West African republic.
The demonstrators, mostly Guinean students living in Moscow, carried signs
reading 'Rusal: Clean up after yourself!' and 'Down with colonialism!' A
number of demonstrators were detained at a local police station, while the
rest were dispersed by police. At this time it is uncertain when those
arrested will be released or what charges they may face.
The controversy centers around Rusal's failure to meet international
environmental standards at its aluminum refinery in Fria, Guinea. Residents
have long complained about the contamination of their air and water noise
pollution from explosions as a result of the plant's activities.
The open letter to Rusal, a version of which was sent to Russian news
outlets, was affixed with over 500 signatures.
'The Guinean people are waging a battle for their own dignity and right to
life against a large foreign-controlled corporation whose actions are often
carried out in a spirit of 19th-century colonialism,' the letter attests. 'In
the town of Fria, skirmishes between police and residents protesting the
barbaric treatment of their country's natural resources have already led to
more than one death.'
The petition concludes by calling on Rusal to make good on its promises to
meet environmental standards in Guinea: 'We assert to the leaders of Rusal our
demand they take into consideration the interests of native Guineans,
carefully study the environmental situation around their factories in our
country and take immediate measures to alleviate the negative effects of their
actions at these facilities.'
No Rusal official came out to meet the protesters. The undelivered letter
remained lying on the office grounds alongside a dead chicken -- the Guinean
symbol of a broken promise. Rusal is a Russian aluminum major controlled by
Russia's richest man Oleg Deripaska.
For more information or copy of the statement please contact:
Society of Guineans Abroad
Kamara Seku, president
+7 915 1047919
SOURCE Society of Guineans Abroad
