right to health versus right to
profit
ukrainian people triumph over polluting
factory
Zelenyi Svit/Friends of the
Earth
Ukraine
Involving the media
in the campaign to stop expansion of
polluting battery plant in the
ukraine
A legacy of the Soviet regime in the
Ukraine can still be witnessed when human
rights are pitted against economic profit:
the motto ‘results at any price' continues
to be the official norm. As a result,
economic development in the Ukraine is
being achieved through the importation of
cheap, outdated, and often outlawed
technologies from developed countries. Not
surprisingly, people's health and the need
to preserve the country's natural resources
are ignored.
A prime example of this mal development
has unfolded in the Dnipropetrovsk region,
a heavily industrialized area with
incredibly high levels of pollution. In
1992, the Ukranian company ISTA began
constructing a car battery factory there,
importing equipment from Germany where
local protesters had managed to stop
production.
Between 1995 and 2000, local people
living near the plant began to suffer from
health problems. These were confirmed by
medical practitioners: a local dentist, for
example, found lead in the teeth of his
child patients. In addition, former plant
workers began to disclose details of bad
practice. Concerned individuals tried to
get the authorities and the plant
management to deal with these concerns to
no avail.
breaking bread
together
At this point, Friends of the Earth
Ukraine was called in for support. They
helped to organize a local action group,
and called a meeting in April 2000 to
protest against ISTA's infringement of
environmental and human rights. Over 1,000
people turned up, including plant
management, who angered the crowd by
asserting that the plant was no more
dangerous than a “bread shop”.
After the meeting, ISTA started legal
proceedings against the action group, the
local Friends of the Earth branch and the
local dentist, alleging that the plant was
environmentally benign and that their image
was being damaged. They attempted to
intimidate the activists and their
supporters into submission. In response,
Friends of the Earth hired experts to
collect information about the factory. They
found that the plant did not have the
necessary environmental expertise, and was
not fulfilling its obligations to supply
information to the authorities. After
Friends of the Earth publicly denounced the
persecution of its members by the company,
ISTA requested a meeting and the media
became involved.
In the end, the planned expansion of the
plant was stopped, people living in the
vicinity of the factory were given a
satisfactory out-ofcourt settlement, and
the entire plant management was replaced.
In addition, some existing national
environmental laws were strengthened. As a
result of the victory, the membership of
Friends of the Earth Ukraine increased,
putting the group in a stronger position to
monitor the activities of ISTA and other
companies that defy people's environmental
rights.
more information
:
Friends of the Earth Ukraine :
www.zsfoe.org
© foe
ukraine
