From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 6/27/2007 11:39 PM
Valerie Brinih: their true purpose is to grasp valuable territories of Sochi national park
26.6.2007
     

In Russia, where there are great northern territories (suitable for use under any kinds of winter sports) to declare as an applicant for the winter Olympic Games the most southern city of the country – Sochi - is invalid. As the question is about the unique place with a plenty of especially protected natural zones. Such opinion was stated in the interview to “Caucasian unit” correspondent by the head of Maykop town public organization of the All-Russia society of nature protection, member of the council of the Ecological watch across Northern Caucasus Valerie Brinih.

As he said, Russia has rather enough places that could considerably more seriously apply for the winter Olympic Games-2014, and "the true purpose of the attacks Sochi with the flag of Olympiad is simply grasping of valuable territory of the Sochi national park". "Along the sea, - he explained, - we have just very narrow line of land, where is already nothing to divide, so that land is very expensive. And in its depth - in the valley of the Mzymta river, in the area of the Red Glade the prices for land are not so high for a while".

Question: What protest do you particularly express?

Answer: Certainly, we are not against the winter Olympic Games. Our protest is extremely that we are against their place of prospective accommodation. Sochi is the unique place not only in Russia, or Europe, but also in the whole world. Here, besides the Sochi national park, we have the territory of the Caucasian reserve located which is the basic part of the object of the World natural heritage. And on that little place to all those problems, which inevitably exist in the resort, a huge sports - mass action connected not only with one-moment realization of the Olympiad, say, within a week or a month, and a long preparatory period in 7 years.

For that period Sochi would turn in a huge construction of All-Russian scale, after which it would be ruined as a balnelogic resort. Our fathers and grandfathers created it as a balneologic centre, and now it turns in mountain-ski resort place. Balneology is a treatment of the people suffering from certain diseases with dirts, mineral resources, pure air, and water. The mountain-climatic resort is intended for healthy people aspiring to support their physical status in norm.

For example, for the Olympiad Imeretinskaya lowland is "developed". And that is the only area where the medical dirt can be taken. That is, having drained it to begin such large-scale construction, the organizers of the Olympiad will liquidate the medical resorts of Matsesta. They, probably, will stay, but they would not carry out their former functions any more. In this sense our protest is not only ecological, it gets the social aspect.

Question: And whom, in your opinion, could it be favourable to?

Answer: To the officials and oligarchs. Earlier even for the big money they couldn’t have got it. Now legislation is arranged under the Olympiad, the ecological examination is cancelled: everything is done to make easier to build up the territory of the Sochi national park. To be more correct - to build objects, which have no any direct relation to the Olympiad.

For example, by the plan of building of Grusheviy mountain ridge, against which many people are - even those who support the state authorities - sports structures will occupy only 10 % from among the other objects of the infrastructure. That is, bobsleigh line and biathlon stadium will be tightly surrounded by hotels, houses rest, golf-clubs and so on.

Question: Is there any compromise variant of using Sochi for the Olympiad offered by the ecologists?

Answer: They were, but they countered to what had been developed by the applying committee. The problem is that they were against locality of accommodation of the objects of the Olympiad. In other words, we offered to involve other territories, too. We used the logic that than the area occupied by buildings is more separated, the lesser it would harm the area of Sochi. But, speaking about uniqueness of the application for the Olympiad, the committee as a "trump" sounded two main arguments. It is the nature - combination of the climate of Mediterranean and the highlands of Alpes. The second is compact accommodation of objects of the Olympiad.

Many sports actions of such scale as well as their organizers suffer from a separated accommodation of such objects as the participants should spend a lot of time for moving from vacation spots to the places of the competitions. But we should reflect, why it is so: probably, to take off recreational influence from the small areas.

Now on the Red Glade we have quite the opposite situation. If earlier this territory belonged to the national park, it meant that on it we had rare sorts of plants brought in the Red book growing and unique animals living. But if the objects are settled down locally, as it was planned - on Psehaho mountain ridge, on the northern mountainside of Aibghi, Grusheviy mountain ridge, all these places can be very strongly damaged. Where earlier just 10 men passed, now there will be 10 thousand. That is how high there will be ecological influence on the territory.

Dispersing of the objects of the Olympiad along the sea coast, with a part, say, in Adygeya, if to speak not prejudicedly - is very difficult. Therefore we were against the Olympiad in Sochi, and for carrying it, for example, on Ural or in St.-Petersburg, where the initial conditions, in our opinion, are much better.

And since January, when Russia had submitted the applying book to the International Olympic committee, where the presentation of Sochi city was, there can not be no rejections from the plan any more.

Question: Have you familiarized with this book?

Answer: Certainly. We have prepared the Anti-applying book. On the basis of the Applying book, plus those publications and scientific researches we had. The Anti-applying book had been already sent the International Olympic committee.

Question: What protest actions would you plan if Russia won the application for the Olympiad?

Answer: There would be such protest actions as pickets, or meetings. We plan to work further for monitoring those infringements committed, damage, threats created. And to inform the international public, and the IOC, too.

Question: I see, and if Russia lose?

Answer: In this case we shall continue our monitoring. I had already spoken that we recognize the campaign for realization of the Olympiad in Sochi, as "smoke veil" for capturing of the unique territories. We would also challenge in court the federal target program on creation in Sochi a mountain-ski resort. You see, president of Russia Vladimir Putin, and others high-ranked officials have announced that despite of the IOC’s decision, construction of sports objects will be continued.

NatPress

http://www.natpress.net/stat_e.php?id=2809