A Greenpeace activist and leading nuclear opponent in Bulgaria, Albena Simeonova, has received death threats due to her public opposition to the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belene, north of the country. Call on the Bulgarian Government to secure her safety and prevent these threats from happening again.
(Brought to you by Zeitgiest – the free Blather news service)
********
From Greenpeace:
Simeonova, 40, who is portrayed as an obstacle by the nuclear industry’s interests, started to receive anonymous calls at the end of 2004. On February 23rd, two men showed up at her house issuing death threats if she refused to stop her resistance against plans to build the nuclear power plant in Belene. The men also warned her to leave the region of Nikopol, her homeland.
“This is not only a serious threat against my life, it represents a threat to all who campaign against nuclear plants trying to protect their lives and the local environment,” said Simeonova, who won the Goldman Award, dubbed as the Nobel Prize for the Environment, in 1996.
Simeonova is one of the leaders of a strong movement in Bulgaria that stopped plans for the construction of a nuclear power station near Belene in the early 1990s. The building plans were revived in 2003, and she was one of the first people to call for attention to the problems the project would create. She alerted national and international organisations on the upcoming plans and since has been one of the enginges behind resistance against these plants.
“We are shocked to hear that her life is threatened due to her opposition to this nuclear project. She is a pioneer for a clean environment in Bulgaria. Belene is the real threat, not Albena Simeonova. This plant is completely unnecessary for Bulgaria and for the region,” says Jan Haverkamp from Greenpeace International
Bulgaria has one of the largest renewable energy resources in the European Union, with massive potentials for wind energy, as well as geothermal and hydropower. With its large agricultural sector, Bulgaria could cover a significant part of its energy needs with renewable energy. These clean energy sources are economic, abundant, create thousands of jobs and pose no threat to human life and the environment.
Write to Bulgarian authorities asking that Albena’s safety be guaranteed, and the democratic right to oppose these nuclear power plants be protected.
