Month: May 2015

Turkish National Intelligence Organsation caught sending weapons to Syrian terrorists; government stops investigation and jails prosecutors

Posted by

0

Posted on Global Research, May 21, 2015
From Middle East Eye

Turkey Arrests Soldiers over Interception of Syria-bound Weapons to Terrorists

Dozens of military and security personnel have been arrested by Turkish authorities in ongoing investigation of Syrian weapons shipments

Turkish police have detained eight serving members of the army in the latest wave of arrests in a hugely controversial case over the interception last year of an alleged consignment of arms bound for Syria, reports said on Saturday.

Arrest warrants were issued for 10 soldiers, eight of whom had been detained by Friday night, the official Anatolia news agency reported.

They have been accused of membership of a terrorist group, impeding the work of the government and espionage, it said. They should now appear in court to decide whether to remand them in custody ahead of trial.

Authenticated documents circulated on the internet claimed that the trucks, which were seized last year in January 2014, were Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) vehicles delivering weapons to Syrian opposition groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

The documents reported that the trucks were transporting missiles, mortars and anti-aircraft ammunition. The Gendarmerie General Command, which authored the reports, alleged, “The trucks were carrying weapons and supplies to the al-Qaeda terror organisation.”

Turkey has vehemently denied aiding hardline rebels in Syria, such as the Islamic State group, although it wants to see Assad toppled.

MIT trucks ‘not anyone’s concern’

Earlier this month, Turkey arrested four prosecutors who had ordered the search of the trucks and they are now in prison ahead of trial.

Huseyin Celik, the deputy chairman of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP ruling party, issued a statement that reprimanded the prosecutors for their investigation.

“This is a truck of the MIT. What is inside it doesn’t concern anyone,” Celik said. “Who are these prosecutors working for? Stopping MIT trucks means not knowing your limits. The prosecutors who make such mistakes will be held accountable.”

Another 19 soldiers were also placed under arrest pending trial in April, Anatolia said.

Meanwhile, 17 police were arrested as part of the investigation in February and another 11 police back in July 2014.

Anatolia said that a total of 47 people were being held in the investigation, not including the latest arrests.

The Turkish authorities have sought to link the affair to US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses of running a parallel state through supporters in the judiciary and police with the aim of usurping him.

Supporters of Gulen, who have been hit by a wave of arrests in the past months, reject the allegations.

The controversy erupted on 19 January 2014, when Turkish forces stopped trucks bound for Syria suspected to have been loaded with weapons. But they found MIT personnel on board.

Foreign rights groups have expressed concern in recent months over the broad judicial campaign against groups in Turkish society deemed to be Gulen supporters.

Weapons intercepted

The government imposed a full-blown media blackout, including on social networks, and the investigation is being carried out in the utmost secrecy.

This isn’t the first time that Turkish authorities have seized large caches of weapons they believe to be destined for Syrian militants.

In March 2013, more than 5,000 guns were discovered in a warehouse during a raid in a village near the Turkish border town of Akcakale.

A couple of weeks before this case, another truck loaded with weapons was intercepted in the southern province of Hatay, heading towards the Syrian border.

The Turkish government initially said the truck was carrying humanitarian aid for beleaguered Turkmens stuck in besieged cities in northern Syria as fighting escalated between radical opposition groups and Kurdish forces.

Turkey and Syria share a 900 kilometre border, and over 1.6 million Syrian refugees crossed over to the Turkish side.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-detains-soldiers-over-seizure-syria-bound-arms-case-470827495

http://www.globalresearch.ca/turkey-arrests-soldiers-over-interception-of-syria-bound-weapons-to-terrorists/5450969

Secretary of State John Kerry v. his subordinate Victoria Nuland, regarding Ukraine

Posted by

0

by Eric Zuesse
Posted on Washington’s Blog, May 21, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, on May 12th, responding to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s assertions that Ukraine will retake Crimea and will conquer Donbass:

“I have not had a chance – I have not read the speech. I haven’t seen any context. I have simply heard about it in the course of today. But if indeed President Poroshenko is advocating an engagement in a forceful effort at this time, we would strongly urge him to think twice not to engage in that kind of activity, that that would put Minsk in serious jeopardy. And we would be very, very concerned about what the consequences of that kind of action at this time may be.”

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European & Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, as communicated by the U.S. State Department’s Press Office on May 15th, reiterating Poroshenko’s view:

“Assistant Secretary Nuland’s ongoing visit to Kyiv and her discussions with Prime Minister [Arseniy] Yatseniuk and President [Petro] Poroshenko reaffirm the United States’ full and unbreakable support for Ukraine’s government, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine and reiterate our deep commitment to a single Ukrainian nation, including Crimea, and all the other regions of Ukraine.”

Will John Kerry reprimand his subordinate for her contradicting what he, her boss, had said three days earlier? If not, then will President Barack Obama fire his Secretary of State John Kerry? If not, then will Victoria Nuland be fired? If not, then who is to trust anything that comes from the U.S. State Department, when the Secretary of State can be contradicted three days later by his subordinate, and both remain in their respective jobs?

Republicans are already preparing to weaken Kerry over this. The far-right news-site “Frontpage Mag” headlined on May 21st, “John Kerry’s Seven Hours of Weakness in Russia,” and condemned the “attempt by Kerry to re-set the ‘re-set’ button [on U.S. policy toward Russia] first pushed by his predecessor, Hillary Clinton.” The special subject of their ire: “The promise of ‘rolling back’ the mild sanctions regime the West imposed on Russia on account of Putin’s annexation of Crimea and support of separatist rebels was bandied about, if only Russia would behave in the future.” But winning changes in behavior is what international diplomacy is supposed to be all about — otherwise the State Department wouldn’t even be needed, and only the Pentagon would handle America’s foreign relations.

If Victoria Nuland stays in her job, then John Kerry will be neutered even if he’s not fired.

The only person with the power to fire Nuland is actually U.S. President Barack Obama. Perhaps the request for him to do that is already on his desk. If it’s not, then Kerry’s job is in jeopardy, because his diplomatic efforts can be obliterated by a subordinate and that subordinate will suffer no penalty for doing this. Nobody then would respect anything that the U.S. Secretary of State says, because it would necessarily represent the President’s policies. If the Secretary of State isn’t backed up by the President, then the Secretary of State has no real power at all.

———-

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of  They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of  CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity, and of  Feudalism, Fascism, Libertarianism and Economics

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/05/secretary-of-state-john-kerry-v-his-subordinate-victoria-nuland-regarding-ukraine.html

 

State Dept. briefing May 15 via Nuland contradicts Kerry

Posted by

0

From the US State Department
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2015/05/242432.htm

Daily Press Briefing – May 15, 2015 – US Department of State

TRANSCRIPT:

excerpt

…Second item, Ukraine. As the Secretary said at the NATO ministerial meeting in Antalya, Turkey, earlier this week, this is a critical moment for action by Russia and the separatists to live up to the Minsk agreements. Ukraine’s leaders continue to implement their Minsk commitments, just as they have answered the call of the Ukrainian people on the Maidan by delivering the largest reforms since Ukraine’s independence in less than a year, and they aren’t stopping. Assistant Secretary Nuland’s ongoing visit to Kyiv and her discussions with Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and President Poroshenko reaffirm the United States’ full and unbreakable support for Ukraine’s government, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine and reiterate our deep commitment to a single Ukrainian nation, including Crimea, and all the other regions of Ukraine.

…

QUESTION: In your opening statement you mentioned what you called a critical moment. Considering that there are ongoing concerns about Russia’s engagement in Ukraine, has there been any movement in the U.S. position to consider selling defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine? And if not, is there a point in which the U.S. would consider such sales?

MR RATHKE: Well, our focus from the outset of the crisis has been on supporting Ukraine and on pursuing a diplomatic solution that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We constantly assess our policies on Ukraine to ensure that they are calibrated to achieve our objectives. I’m not going to go into the details of internal policy discussions, but we continue to assess how best to asses Ukraine. I don’t have an announcement to make now, but we continue to assess that.

QUESTION: So are you saying the door is possibly open or —

MR RATHKE: I’d just say we continue to assess that, that we are constantly looking at our policies on Ukraine. But I don’t have an announcement to make.

MR RATHKE: I’m sorry. Any other questions on Ukraine?

I would – if I could take the opportunity, I would also just want to go back to what I said at the top, and just to review what has happened this week with regard to Ukraine. Secretary Kerry was in Sochi at the start of the week, where the Secretary was clear with Russia – President Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov – about Ukraine and about the consequences for failing to uphold the Minsk commitments. Right after that discussion, he called President Poroshenko to update him and to reaffirm our support for Ukraine. He went from there immediately to the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Antalya, where he briefed them and also underscored the United States’ commitment when he met with Foreign Minister Klimkin in Antalya. Assistant Secretary Nuland is in Kyiv right now, and the message of all of these engagements is that we stand for the implementation of Minsk. We stand in support of the Ukrainian Government, President Poroshenko, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, and the Ukrainian people. And I wanted just to make sure that I took that opportunity.

…

[on the topic of Okinawa’s opposition to continued US military presence there]

QUESTION: Okay. Today is the 43rd anniversary of the Okinawa’s reversion to Japan and sovereignty from the United States occupies, but still Okinawa have been hosting the large – the U.S. military facility since the World War II. And Okinawa governor Onaga and is strongly opposite to constructing the new U.S. military base in Henako. And also this Sunday, major rally against the base construction will be held in Okinawa, and they expected even to draw up at least 30,000 participants. So how do you think about that Okinawa situation?

MR RATHKE: Well, this is an issue on which we’re working with the Japanese Government. We are committed to the – to moving to the replacement facility. We’re working with the Japanese Government to that end. The Japanese Government as well is committed to it. They can speak to those details for themselves. So I don’t have an update to offer except to say that our commitment to Japan remains. It was underscored yet again during Prime Minister Abe’s visit and during the 2+2 meeting that happened during that same week. And so our commitment and our policy remains the same.

US State Dept. chief Kerry strongly warns Poroshenko about attempting to retake Donbass and Crimea: “Think twice”

Posted by

0

By Eric Zuesse
Posted on Global Research, May 19, 2015

On Tuesday, May 12th, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was asked at a press conference in Sochi Russia, to respond to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s recent statements promising renewed war against Donbass, which were made first on April 30th, “The war will end when Ukraine regains Donbass and Crimea,” and which were repeated on May 11th, by his saying, “I have no doubt, we will free the [Donetsk] Airport, because it is our land.” In other words, Poroshenko had repeatedly made clear that he plans a third invasion of Donbass, and, ultimately, also to invade and retake Crimea. (The Western press, however, had not reported any of these threats that were being made by Poroshenko.)

Kerry responded:

“ I have not had a chance – I have not read the speech. I haven’t seen any context. I have simply heard about it in the course of today [which would be shocking if true]. But if indeed President Poroshenko is advocating an engagement in a forceful effort at this time, we would strongly urge him to think twice not to engage in that kind of activity, that that would put Minsk in serious jeopardy. And we would be very, very concerned about what the consequences of that kind of action at this time may be.”

For the rest of the article:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-gave-up-on-ukraine-towards-a-plan-b-for-ukraine/5450396
Obama Gave Up on Ukraine? Towards a Plan B for Ukraine?

Link to press conference:
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/05/242214.htm

 

Azerbaijan police arrest businessman linked to Tony Blair

Posted by

0

See also: http://orientalreview.org/2015/03/01/azerbaijan-should-be-very-afraid-of-nuland/

So, Azerbaijan has KFC. That’s too bad. American fast food and processed food is typically loaded with fat, salt, and sugar to keep people coming back — the “bliss” factor researched and utilized by the food industry.  Addictive, yes. This guarantees them a steady and growing profit, especially  in new markets. Healthy? That’s not the goal. Native foods, based on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, proteins, are far better, and get sidelined by Western products. Mr. Piriyev owns the franchise for KFC.

This is just another aspect of invasion. Trade doors swing open first and allow that invasion, which prepares the ground for further erosions of national character, more encroachments, and more devastating invasions.

The map below shows why the West wants Azerbaijan.

Posted on Global Research, May 17, 2015
From Eurasia Review.com

Azerbaijan: Mafia State

Police in Baku arrested Nizami Piriyev, a high-profile Azerbaijani businessman closely associated with President Ilham Aliyev.

Mr Piriyev, media reported, was charged with various financial crimes. He is in prison ahead of a trial in what appears to be a spectacular public fall.

One of Azerbaijan’s richest men, Mr Piriyev was the official owner of the Azerbaijan Methanol Company, a large and high-profile operation on the outskirts of Baku.

He paid for former British PM Tony Blair to fly to Baku in 2009 to open the plant. Mr Blair, criticised for taking cash from governments with dubious human rights records since he left office in 2007, was photographed at a press conference in Baku sitting between Mr Piriyev and his son, Nasib.

Mr Piriyev’s holding company PNN Group also owned franchise rights to a number of Western brands in Azerbaijan and across the former Soviet Union. It’s website said that this included the British high street news agent WHSmith and US fast food chain KFC. A spokesman for WHSmith, though, said that Mr Piriyev did not hold its franchise in Azerbaijan.

Mr Piriyev used to work in Russia for Gazprom and had businesses stretching across Central Asia.

It’s unclear what triggered his arrest and whether he has been associated with Azerbaijan’s increasingly marginalised opposition or if he had fallen out with President Aliyev. The United States and Europe have been increasingly critical of Mr Aliyev for cracking down on opposition.

This story was first published in issue 231 of the weekly newspaper The Conway Bulletin on May 13, 2015.

Copyright the Conway Bulletin, 2015

http://www.globalresearch.ca/azerbaijan-police-arrest-businessman-linked-to-tony-blair/5449941

http://www.eurasiareview.com/15052015-azerbaijan-police-arrest-businessman-linked-to-tony-blair/

‘No U.S. base in Okinawa’ – mass protests against U.S military presence in Japan

Posted by

0

This article doesn’t mention that underwater surveys often employ high intensity underwater guns that kill and maim sea life. There was a massive outcry when Pacific Gas and Electric Company wanted to do acoustic seismic testing off the coast of California near its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The California Coastal Commission agreed with the public and stopped it. http://www.stopoceanblasting.org/  [1]

Posted on Global Research
From RT

no us base okinawa

Thousands have been marching in Okinawa and across Japan in protest against the planned relocation of a US military base in Okinawa. The protesters criticized the Japanese government, who appear to be turning a deaf ear to the locals.

The protests began on Friday with about 1,200 people in Okinawa, as the island marked the 43rd anniversary of its reversion to Japanese sovereignty, and continued into Sunday gathering thousands of people.

“Even after our reversion, the problems of the bases remain unchanged,” Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga said at the protest, adding reversion of sovereignty had failed to bring Okinawans what they wanted.

The activists said the island had seen decades of injustice from US and Japan.

“We’ve long suffered from the bases, and I’m angered by the outrageousness of both the US and Japanese governments in insisting a new base be built in Henoko,” Fujiko Matsuda, who heads a local citizens’ group, told the Japan Times.

“It is wrong to proceed with the Henoko relocation without listening to the voices of the Okinawans,”said another Okinawa resident, Atsuko Ikeda. “If we don’t prevent it, there is no future for Japan as a democratic nation.”

On Saturday, protestors marched around the US Futenma airbase in Ginowan city in Okinawa. About 2,600 people across Japan from Hokkaido to Nagasaki also took to the streets to voice their disapproval.

The activists shouted slogans, such as: “Oppose enhanced Japan-US defense ties”, “Bring back an Okinawa without US bases”, “The United States has to respect Okinawa people’s will”.

In the northeastern town of Henoko, hundreds of protesters scuffled with police outside new ‘Camp Schwab’. Several demonstrators were detained following the clashes.

On Sunday, about 35,000 people turned out to protest in the prefecture.

“No matter how long it might take, we will never give up our fight until the government gives it up,” said Keiichi Takara, director of the Confederation of Trade Unions Okinawa. “Through the rally, we will reaffirm our resolved commitment.”

According to mayor of Nago, Susumu Inamine, who opposes US military bases in Okinawa, “the government is thrusting their responsibility on us.”

“The government says we are to blame that the issue has stalled for 19 years and they tell us to find an alternative place (for the base). That’s outrageous,” he shouted into the crowd of protesters.

Marine biologist Katherine Musik said the rally “is absolutely tremendous.” “Tens of thousands of voices, right now, shouting together, ‘NO’, in perfect harmony! ‘NO’ to the US military presence, how powerful! Let’s all shout, ‘Yes’ to the blue corals, red sea fans, orange clownfish, ‘Yes’ to the endangered dugongs in the sea, the endangered birds in the forest!”

The US Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in heavily populated Ginowan city has been a cause of tension between American troops and local residents for years. Okinawa, home to about 1 percent of Japan’s population, hosts nearly half of the 47,000 US troops based in Japan. Tokyo authorities want to shut the base down and open a new one in the more remote town of Henoko, in the center of the southern Japanese island. But the majority of the locals, as well as Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, want the construction of the replacement base to be scrapped.

In March, Onaga demanded the underwater survey needed to build an offshore airstrip for the new base be stopped, citing environmental damage.

He met Defense Minister General Nakatani in May for the first time to discuss the relocation plan. They failed, however, to resolve their differences.

There is a long history of incidents and alleged crimes committed by US soldiers in Okinawa. The current wave of anti-base sentiment on the island was sparked by a 1995 case, when three US marines were reported to have kidnapped and brutally raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl.

There were also less-publicized sex crime cases involving underage victims reported in 2001 and 2005, the fatal running over of a female high school student by a drunken US marine in 1998, and other crimes.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/okinawa-without-us-bases-mass-protest-march-against-u-s-military-presence-in-japan/5450046

[1] http://www.aprobertsarts.com/COAST/media-coverage-of-coastal-commissions-denial-of-pge-permit/

New Ukraine law: OUN, UPA, ultranationalist, Nazi collaborator and terrorist groups honored as freedom fighters

Posted by

From Global Research, May 17, 2015
By Stephen Lendman

Kiev’s regime is a US-installed, illegitimate, lawless, Nazi infested, fascist police state in Europe’s heartland – waging naked aggression on its own people, risking regional peace and stability. Russians, Jews and others are vilified. Rule by intimidation is official policy.

In April, a “decommunization” process began – banning communist and Soviet era symbols and values, including longstanding statues and street names.

Communist Party members face police state persecution – including fabricated civil and criminal charges.

Poroshenko declared Ukraine a “unitary state” – code language opposing any person or group against its police state practices.

New legislation honors Nazi era ultranationalists as “freedom fighters” – including militant groups like the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and other extremist ones operating in Soviet Russia from 1917 – 1991.

An explanatory legislative note states:

“The law provides for state recognition of the struggle for Ukrainian independence in the twentieth century and defines the legal status of participants in the struggle for Ukrainian independence in the twentieth century.”

Crimes against peace these groups committed are considered lawful – claiming they’re in compliance with the UN Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other fundamental international laws.

Historians blame OUN and UPA for at least one million Russian and Polish deaths, including many Jews.

They continued fighting Soviet Russia after WW II ended. Intellectuals and government officials were targeted.

Fascist elements have operated openly in Ukraine since Washington’s 2004 Orange Revolution.

Democratically elected Viktor Yanukovoych was ousted. Viktor Yushchenko replaced him.

Yushchenko’s last presidential act was naming Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera a Hero of Ukraine – the nation’s highest honor, given for “personal heroism and great labor achievements.”

Following months of European Parliament, Russian, Polish and Jewish organization, the award was rescinded.

In November 2014, Russia’s Supreme Court designated Ukrainian insurgent extremists terrorists – banning their activity on Russian territory.

Ukraine’s new law equates communism with Nazism. Poroshenko signed it on Friday.

It blatantly contravenes fundamental international law. It’s part of Kiev’s thinly veiled scheme to ban regime opposition.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/kiev-recognizes-ultranationalist-nazi-era-collaborators-as-freedom-fighters/5449953

Macedonia – the next hot spot after Ukraine?

Posted by

0

It’s already erupting.

From Fort Russ

May 12, 2015
Nikolay Starikov
Translated by Kristina Rus
What is behind the events in Macedonia

The geopolitical games of USA around Ukraine have already led to a civil war in this country. Now to maintain the chaos near the borders of Russia and preserve the tension in the center of Europe, the U.S. is ready to plunge another European country into chaos — Macedonia.

The Turkish Stream Macedonia is a fragment of Yugoslavia. The country is small and pretty quiet. But there is a source of tension. It’s the Albanian diaspora of the country, which by some estimates is about 25% of population of Macedonia. Albania is next door. And next door is Serbia with Kosovo, virtually occupied by NATO. Where Albanian extremists have much freedom. The Albanian factor is used as a source of destabilization of Macedonia.

Who does it and why?

The purpose is clear if you look at the map.

1. Staging a coup in Ukraine, the U.S. uses the puppet authorities of this country to create tension in Russia. At any time Russian gas supply to Europe may be interrupted, which is a threat to the European economy. A start for such action on the part of Kiev can be anything – from siphoning gas to a terrorist act of “unknown separatists and terrorists”. In the end, the US can always threaten and blackmail Russia and Europe with big problems, demanding concessions in the Ukrainian and other issues of world politics.

2. There is a solution to get rid of U.S. blackmail. For this a pipeline is needed bypassing Ukraine. But the U.S. put pressure on Bulgaria and construction of South stream was buried.

3. Then Russia started negotiations with Turkey to build a pipeline through the territory of this country. Now it is called “The Turkish Stream”.

4. After passing Turkey the “pipe” should go to Greece. The strengthening of the Russian-Greek contacts, and Russia’s willingness to help Greece with loans is the visible part of the negotiations on the construction of “The Stream”.

5. Where will the Turkish Stream go after Greece? There are not many options. It is unlikely to go to Bulgaria, obviously, as the authorities of this country are “under” the Americans. The only option remains to lay the pipe through Macedonia, discussions of which were held in February 2015.

6. Then an attack of the Albanian militants from neighboring Kosovo happens to take place in Macedonia.

7. The goal – blocking construction of the Turkish stream.

8. A few days ago, Russia made a statement that the gas will go through Turkish pipe at the end of 2016. If this happens, the US will lose a trump card to put pressure on Russia and Europe, which will certainly lead to the end of the funding of Kiev regime by Europe and low prices for Russian gas. Ukraine will become something like an old suitcase for the U.S. – a pity to throw away, but expensive to repair. In this case, Washington may be forced to “leave” Ukraine (as I wrote in the article “Three prizes of Ukraine”).

9. This will be a defeat for the U.S., which is trying to suffocate simultaneously with Russia the economies of their European allies.

10. That’s why the States are willing at ANY cost to prevent the construction of the Turkish Stream, so the war in Ukraine and tensions in Europe will continue.

11. Remember who funded the Albanian fighters in Yugoslavia. Who did not allow the Serbs to destroy the terrorists in Kosovo and began to bomb Serbia. Who hid the crimes of Albanian fighters, who cut the organs from Serbs for transplantation. Here’s the answer to the question – who paid for the attempt of Albanians to SUDDENLY attack Macedonia.

http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/05/macedonia-next-hot-spot-after-ukraine.html

Ukrainian nuclear waste is stored in open air, 120 miles from front line

Posted by

0

Note: the unlabeled picture of fire below is of the recent Chernobyl fire.

Posted on Global Research
From RT

Serious concerns have been raised by experts and environmentalists over the ‘shocking’ way spent nuclear fuel is being stored at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, just 200km away from the front line in Donbass.

More than 3,000 spent nuclear fuel rods are being stored in the open air in metal casks close to the perimeter fence at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in conditions that have shocked environmentalists, The Guardian reports.

Nuclear experts say the waste should have another secondary containment structure, such as a building with a roof.

“With a war around the corner, it is shocking that the spent fuel rod containers are standing under the open sky, with just a metal gate and some security guards waltzing up and down for protection. It is unheard of when, in Germany, interim storage operators have been ordered by the court to terror-proof their casks with roofs and reinforced walls,” Patricia Lorenz, a Friends of the Earth nuclear spokeswoman who visited the plant on a fact-finding mission, told the paper.

Although the front line is for now too far away from the nuclear plant to be at any risk, the potential consequences of the conflict engulfing the power station is major worry to locals.

The memory of the Chernobyl explosion in the north of Ukraine 30 years ago, which poisoned vast tracts of land, is still fresh in many people’s minds.

“Given the current state of warfare, I cannot say what could be done to completely protect installations from attack, except to build them on Mars,” said Sergiy Bozhko , the chairman of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU).

The current Zaporizhia nuclear fuel storage unit was built to a US design and did involve testing to withstand a terrorist attack.

However a dry storage container with a bomb resilient roof and contained ventilation system would offer much greater protection.

However this would be impossible to build on the current site and it would have to be constructed somewhere else nearby and then all the nuclear casks would have to be moved inside at even greater expense.

“It is obvious that if you do not have an array of dry cast [interim] [dry cask?] stores with secondary containment around it, then that will have a greater risk of release of radioactive material,” said Antony Froggatt, a senior research fellow and European nuclear specialist at Chatham House, London.

Although sources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) told The Guardian that any request for funding for such a structure would be seriously considered. The bank has already made 300 million euros available to extend the lifespan of Ukraine’s ageing nuclear plants.

Since the conflict in Donbass has severely limited the supply of Russian gas, Ukraine’s reliance on its 15 Soviet-era reactors has increased by 10 percent; the country now gets 60 percent of its energy from nuclear power.

Nuclear energy is one area where Ukraine and Russia still cooperate, and Ukraine still depends almost entirely on Russia’s Rosatom for enriched uranium.

But in the long term Ukraine aims to diversify its nuclear fuel contract between the US company Westinghouse and European companies as well as Rosatom.

But deals with Westinghouse and the French company Areva are still sketchy and market diversification will be slow.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/ukrainian-nuclear-waste-stored-in-open-air-200km-from-warzone/5449617

Also:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/06/nuclear-waste-stored-in-shocking-way-120-miles-from-ukraine-front-line

Victoria Nuland is a terrorist. She should be banned from Russia.

Posted by

0

Victoria Nuland visits Moscow May 17-18.

From Sputnik News [i]

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland will visit Moscow on May 17 and 18 to discuss the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements on Ukraine, the US State Department said in a statement Sunday. 

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — During her visit, Nuland will meet with senior Russian government officials and civil society representatives. In addition to the Ukraine peace process, she is set to discuss bilateral US-Russian issues.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) greets U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland during a meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, May 15, 2015

Nuland’s Moscow visit follows her May 14-16 trip to Ukraine’s capital Kiev, and State Secretary John Kerry’s recent visit to the Russian resort city of Sochi.

Allowing Victoria Nuland into Russia is very dangerous. She should be barred from entry. While in Russia, she will make good use of her time, including conferring with her partner Ambassador John Tefft on how best to ignite a Russian Maidan, destroy Russian society and Russia’s future, and meeting with Russian “liberals”, who label themselves as “pro-human rights”.

She is a very dangerous person. She should be viewed as a terrorist. Her work and her deeds are well known. Everything she does is to undermine the well-being of peoples and nations. Her skills as a mastermind and fomenter of civil catastrophe make her a powerful foe. Her movements predict unrest, turmoil, and coups. What is further despicable is that she pays others to commit her foul deeds of bloodshed and the terror.

On May 15, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland arrived in Kiev – officially “to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues.” 

In fact, to review plans for renewed aggression on Donbass. She was Obama’s point person in replacing Ukraine’s democratically elected government with overt Nazis assuming high regime positions.[ii]

She should be put on the official terrorist list and banned from the Russian Federation.
—————————————————–

[i] http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150517/1022228426.html

[ii] http://www.globalresearch.ca/kiev-heads-closer-to-resuming-full-scale-war-on-donbass/5449783

Also here for her role in Macedonia’s attempted coup

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/02/16/nuland-attempts-kiev-version-2-skopje.html

Her partnership with Robert Kagan

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2013/12/18/meet-neocon-doughnut-dolly-victoria-nuland.html

There is a great deal of information available on Victoria Nuland.