20 June 2003
Locals petition Lukashenko to protect Belovezhskaya Pushcha, inhabitants from management's arbitrariness
Residents of the town of Kamenyuki in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha nature reserve have petitioned Aleksandr Lukashenko to protect them and the ancient forest from the arbitrariness of the reserve's management.
"With pain in our heart, we see that something wrong is happening in the national park and the forest," the letter says. The Kamenyuki residents note that hundreds of locals have been sacked by the management in the last two years. "Most of them fell into disfavor with the new management only because they are locals, they love and are devoted to Belovezhskaya Pushcha," the petition reads. The dismissed are replaced by "alien" manpower from other regions, who often have a criminal record, the natives stress. "Seven criminal offenses were committed in the town of Kamenyuki in 2002, whereas the first quarter of 2003 saw nine offenses, with six of them perpetrated by the above people," according to the letter.
The petition, which carries the signatures of 191 Kamenyuki residents, has been delivered to 20 addressees including the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers, the Brest Region Executive Committee, the Prosecutor General, the Constitutional Court, the State Control Committee, the presidential property management department, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, and a number of foreign embassies.
http://brestonline.com/en/news/news425.html