Paul
Goble
Staunton, November 9 – Apparently
concerned that the Shiyes protests won’t end because of the onset of winter and
that the continued activism there not only is serving a model for other demonstrations
around the country but also becoming radicalized and ethnicized, Moscow has
taken another step to shut them down.
(On Moscow’s growing concerns about
the Shiyes “problem,” see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/kremlin-fears-protests-against-moscow.html,
windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/what-would-they-do-in-shiyes-anti-trash.html
and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/09/protests-against-moscows-plans-for.html).
Ten days ago, Russian OMON forces
moved to cut the tent city where the demonstrators continue to stand guard
against the construction of a massive dump for trash from Moscow off from the
outside world (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/omon-forces-move-to-cut-off-shiyes.html).
Now, the Arkhangelsk police and private
security companies hired by those who want to build the dump have demanded that
the activists dismantle their tents and leave the area, implicitly suggesting
that if they do not do so on their own, the authorities will take steps to make
that happen (mbk-news.appspot.com/news/shies-lager/).
Aleksandr Sladoshtiyev, an
environmental activist there, says that the armed men have based their demands supposedly
because the presence of the demonstrators and their encampment is getting in
the way of re-cultivation of the area. The authorities say that protesters must
be out of the way by November 18 for that work to begin.
He says that this is only the pretext
and that the real goal of the armed men is to end the Shiyes protests No one
engages in re-cultivation during the winter. The weather is too cold and the ground
too frozen to allow that. But apparently, the powers that be have concluded
that they will look better if they claim to be defending agriculture rather
than attacking anti-trash demonstrators.
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