|
Prague, 6 September 2000
- GREENPEACE today protested in front of the office of Prime Minister Zeman. It calls on the Government to be aware of its responsibilities and prevent the activation of the Temelín nuclear power plant. It states, that the Government until now mostly shifted responsibility for Temelín to others like Temelín owner CEZ or the State Office for Nuclear Safety SUJB. GREENPEACE stresses, however, that in all cases the final responsibility lays with the Government and nowhere else. GREENPEACE demands from Prime Minister Zeman and his entire cabinet that it takes its responsibility and prevents that Temelín will be activated when existing doubts around safety have not been fully cleared out.
Just before the start of the weekly Government meeting, GREENPEACE gave with a siren a nuclear alarm. Around 40 protesters symbolized the final consequences of a large accident with Temelín by "dying" in front of the Prime Ministers doorstep. Banners stated "Stop Nuclear Accidents - Stop Temelin Now!" and related the doubts about Temelin's safety to the Government's responsibilities: "1957 Windscale - 1977 Jaslovske Bohunice - 1979 Three Miles Island - 1986 Cernobyl - 1999 Tokaimura - 200? Temelín; ODPOVEDNOST VLÁDY!" (Responsibility of the Government!).
GREENPEACE notices that concerning Temelín, the Government carries amongst others the following responsibilities:
- The Government is responsible for the management of CEZ, the owner of Temelín. The Czech State is majority shareholder of CEZ and therefore responsible for all that CEZ is doing. GREENPEACE calls on the government to use this position to order CEZ to stop preparations for activation as long as not all safety problems have been solved. (Main responsible: the Minister of Industry and Trade)
- The Government is responsible for the safety level of Temelín. The State Office for Nuclear Safety (SUJB) falls directly under the Government. GREENPEACE acknowledges that SUJB should be able to function independently from political pressure. The Government is, however, responsible for the fact that SUJB management consists only of people that come from the nuclear industry or are at their best more or less opinion-less. Because of this, it appeared over the last months that SUJB does not address safety problems in a pro-active way - and even creates the impression that it does not put safety over other interests. GREENPEACE argues that SUJB management should consist of people that can see nuclear power in a critical light, and calls on the Government to make the therefore necessary changes. (Main responsible: the Prime Minister)
- The Government is responsible for the health of the population. When Temelín's safety is not secured, this can have catastrophic consequences for the whole Czech population and indeed all of Europe. The Government therefore should use all its legal ways to secure that all safety problems around Temelín are addressed before Temelín starts up. (ain responsible: the Minister of Health)
- The Government is responsible for a healthy environment. An accident in Temelín can have devastating ecological consequences. GREENPEACE therefore calls on the government to finish a complete Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before Temelín is activated. (Main responsible: the Minister of the Environment)
- The Government is responsible for a sustainable energy provision for the Czech Republic. So far, the government has not been able to develop a sustainable energy policy but continued to follow the lines of the past. Temelín is part of an outdated view on energy policy. GREENPEACE calls on the Government to acknowledge this and start to develop a future oriented sustainable policy, following countries like Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Austria and the Scandinavian countries. (Main responsible: the Minister of Industry and Trade)
- The Government is responsible for a lawful society. GREENPEACE has evidence that during the building and testing of Temelín rules have been broken. GREENPEACE calls on the Government to secure that such irregularities will not be turned under the carpet. (Main responsible: the Minister of Justice)
- The Government is responsible for a democratic development of this country. Over the last years, citizens with genuine concerns around Temelín were on several occasions intimidated. Recent examples include non-proportional police force during a GREENPEACE protest on 13 August, and a liable threat by CEZ against GREENPEACE for 6 million Czech Crowns last week. GREENPEACE calls on the Government to secure, that citizens and their organizations can use their rights to speak out concerns freely without intimidation from the side of the State or anybody else. (Main responsible: the whole cabinet)
Jiri Tutter, director of GREENPEACE Czech Republic remarks: "Too much did the Government see Temelín as something it only needed to vote upon once and then could leave to others. That the Czech Republic receives now growing critique on Temelín is for a large part because the Government did not take its responsibilities more seriously." Jan Haverkamp, GREENPEACE's Temelin project co-ordinator, adds: "It cannot be, that a Government stands on the sideline when a completely superfluous nuclear power plant about which there are sincere safety concerns is on the verge of being activated. Temelín should be stopped now, before it is too late."
|
