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- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!agate!naughty-peahen
- From: Greenpeace via Jym Dyer <jym@mica.berkeley.edu>
- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism,talk.environment,talk.politics.soviet
- Subject: NEWS: Denouncation of the Arrest of Russian Scientist Vil Mirzayanov
- Followup-To: talk.environment,talk.politics.soviet
- Date: 20 Nov 1992 01:11:15 GMT
- Organization: The Naughty Peahen Party Line
- Lines: 45
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Message-ID: <Greenpeace.19Nov1992.1711@naughty-peahen>
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-
- [Greenpeace Press Release from Greenbase -- Redistribute Freely]
-
- GREENPEACE DENOUNCES RUSSIAN SCIENTIST'S ARREST
-
- MOSCOW October 28, 1992 (GP) Greenpeace today issued a demand
- for the immediate release of Vil Mirzayanov, a Russian scientist
- accused of revealing details of ongoing research for chemical
- weapons production in Russia. This call comes in the wake of the
- arrest of Mr Mirzayanov on charges of "revealing state secrets".
-
- Negotiations for a multilateral Chemical Weapons Convention were
- recently concluded in Geneva, calling for a ban on production,
- use and acquisition of chemical arms. Mr Mirzayanov's arrest
- calls into question whether the spirit of the treaty has been
- violated, said Alexander Knorre, director of Greenpeace Russia.
-
- "Using force to silence opposition to the destructive practices
- of the military cannot be tolerated," said Knorre.
-
- "An essential step to curing the ills created by years of secret
- military production is complete openness, and freedom of
- information," he added.
-
- Greenpeace urges all countries to demand the immediate release
- of Mr. Mirzayanov. This arrest signifies the danger faced by
- many scientists, government officials, and activists for their
- commitment to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction.
-
- Further, Greenpeace protests the Russian Government's use
- of force and intimidation to silence the open discussion of
- the danger of these senseless weapons. The production, use,
- storage, and decommissioning of chemical weapons present a
- serious threat to the environment, health, and political
- stability worldwide.
-
- "The problem will not disappear with the arrest of courageous
- whistle blowers. The truth can not be contained by prison bars.
- We demand that the Russian authorities immediately release Mr.
- Mirzayanov, and issue a full explanation of the information
- released by him," said Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of
- Greenpeace International.
-
- Greenpeace applauds the conclusion of the Chemical Weapons
- Treaty negotiations, having actively campaigned on the chemical
- weapons issues in the Pacific, United States, and Russia.
-