Tuesday, October 29, 2019

OMON Forces Move to Cut Off Shiyes Protesters from Outside World


Paul Goble

            Staunton, October 25 -- In an ominous move, some 30 OMON officers two days ago blocked the railroad station near where the Shiyes anti-trash dump protesters have made their camp as well as the roads leading to and from it, electric power there and in neighboring villages, and Internet connections with the outside world.

            The protesters and their supporters are not sure whether this is the first step towards the closing of their camp or simply another feint in that direction designed to keep them nervous and off balance (novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/10/23/156327-rosgvrardiya-otsepila-stantsiyu-shies-v-sosednem-poselke-perekryty-dorogi-i-otklyucheno-elektrichestvo and severreal.org/a/30231764.html).

            But one thing many of them are sure of is that Vladimir Putin is behind the move and that this is yet another case in which he has made much-covered public promises to defer to the population and follow the rule of law only to move in another direction when attention shifts (facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3000770686815802&id=100006487019253).

            Obviously, there is still some communication between the protesters and journalists; but the ring is being tightened. And as the weather gets worse, it will become far more difficult for the protesters to get the supplies and support they need to continue their protest against the largest trash dump in Europe, one not for their own wastes but for those of Moscow.

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