{news} Fw: USGP-INT Bulgarian Green leader threatened with death

[Justine McCabe]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Feinstein" <mfeinstein at feinstein.org>
To: <usgp-int at gp-us.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 7:47 AM
Subject: USGP-INT Bulgarian Green leader threatened with death


> http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2005/2005-03-08-03.asp
>
> Bulgarian Green Leader Threatened With Death
>
> VIENNA, Austria, March 8, 2005 (ENS) -  Award-winning Bulgarian 
> anti-nuclear activist Albena Simeonova has received threats on her life 
> due to her public opposition to the construction of a nuclear power plant 
> in Belene, in the northern part of the country, Greenpeace said today. 
> Simeonova, a Greenpeace activist, was honored with the 1996 Goldman Prize 
> for Europe.
>
>  Greenpeace, together with Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe, is 
> calling on the Bulgarian government to secure her safety and prevent these 
> threats from happening again.
>
>  Albena Simeonova has been opposed to the Belene nuclear power plant since 
> the early 1990s. (Photo courtesy Goldman Prize)
>  Simeonova, 40, who is portrayed as an obstacle by the nuclear industry, 
> started to receive anonymous calls at the end of 2004.
>
>  On February 23, two men showed up at her house door threatening to kill 
> her if she did not stop her resistance against plans to build the nuclear 
> power plant in Belene.
>
>  The men also warned her to leave the region of Nikopol, her homeland.
>
>  Simeonova is one of the leaders of a Bulgarian movement that stopped 
> plans for the construction of a nuclear power station near Belene in the 
> early 1990s.
>
>  Plans for the power station were revived in 2003, and she was one of the 
> first people to ask attention for the problems the project would create. 
> She alerted national and international organizations about the revived 
> plans and since has been one of the motors behind resistance against 
> Belene.
>
>  "This is not only a serious threat against my life," said Simeonova, "it 
> represents a threat to all who campaign against nuclear plants trying to 
> protect their lives and the local environment."
>
>  "We are shocked to hear that her life is threatened due to her opposition 
> to this nuclear project," says Jan Haverkamp from Greenpeace 
> International. "She is a pioneer for a clean environment in Bulgaria."
>
>  "Belene is the real threat, not Albena Simeonova," he said. "This plant 
> is completely unnecessary for Bulgaria and for the region."
>
>  Greenpeace argues that Bulgaria does not need the Belene nuclear power 
> plant because the country has one of the largest renewable energy 
> resources in the European Union, with potential for wind energy, as well 
> as geothermal and hydropower.
>
>  With its large agricultural sector, Bulgaria could cover a significant 
> part of its energy needs with renewable energy, Greenpeace says. "These 
> clean energy sources are economic, abundant, create thousands of jobs and 
> pose no threat to human life and the environment," the organization said 
> in a statement.
>
>  Greenpeace opposes the construction of the Belene reactors because of the 
> high level nuclear waste the reactors will generate.
>
>  In February, Greenpeace joined Bulgarian court proceedings against the 
> approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment on the Belene Nuclear 
> Power Plant. Haverkamp says Greenpeace objects that the procedure has been 
> manipulated, that vital data are missing and important analyses not have 
> been carried out.
>
>  In reaction to the Greenpeace appeal, the Bulgarian authorities have 
> tried to expel Greenpeace from court by manipulating formal arguments.
>
>  Cranes loom over the construction site for the Belene Nuclear Power 
> Station in northern Bulgaria. (Photo courtesy Greenpeace)
>  "Obviously, the Bulgarian authorities are afraid for objective challenges 
> of the decision procedure around the Belene nuclear power plant. They now 
> try to silence opposition with far fetched formalities," said Haverkamp, 
> consultant for nuclear energy issues in Central Europe for Greenpeace.
>
>  "It is clear that Greenpeace is seen as a threat to the project, and I 
> would say, rightly so," said Haverkamp. "Belene is economically and 
> environmentally a bad project that needs to be halted."
>
>  Educated as a chemist, Simeonova worked as a senior ecologist for the 
> city of Botevgrad on environmental issues early in her career.
>
>  She then became the executive director of the Foundation for Ecological 
> Education and Training, founded by the Bulgarian Green Party in 1991. 
> Campaigning against the construction of nuclear power plants, in 1994 
> Simeonova organized the first public debate between the proponents and 
> opponents of nuclear power.
>
>  She originated Ecological Inspectorates where citizens can call to report 
> local environmental problems and get a swift, independent response from 
> professionals. Sometimes Simeonova alone responds.
>
>  Bulgarian municipalities have now organized their own Eco-Inspectorates, 
> or have provided funding to NGOs to start them. The original four 
> inspectorate programs have grown to 25 and more are being planned.
>
>  To work towards nationwide coordination of environmental groups, in 1993 
> Simeonova persuaded Bulgarian organizations to come together in an 
> association called the Green Parliament. She also has involved citizens of 
> Bulgaria and Romania to address the problems of trans-boundary pollution.
>
>  As vice president of the Bulgarian Green Party, in 1995 Simeonova 
> organized a dialogue involving members of the Green Parties of Western and 
> Eastern Europe.
>
>  In 1996 Simeonova co-founded the Bulgarian Green Federation. Though not a 
> lawyer herself, she has written municipal environmental regulations. In 
> 1997 Simeonova helped establish the Green Justice Association, which works 
> together with local authorities and NGOs to create new environmental 
> legislation.
>
>  Simeonova has worked with the international E-LAW network of 
> environmental lawyers since 1995.
>
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