Nov 18 2008
Several environmental protesters representing the Republic of Guinea were arrested today for attempting to enter by force the headquarters of metals conglomerate United Company Rusal. The 35-person delegation from the Society of Guineans Abroad was blocked by Rusal security personnel and police before members could deliver an open letter to the company's chief executives demanding that the aluminum giant clean up after its environmental violations in the West African republic.
The demonstrators, mostly Guinean students living in Moscow, carried signs reading "Rusal: Clean up after yourself!" and "Down with colonialism!" A number of demonstrators were detained at a local police station, while the rest were dispersed by police. At this time it is uncertain when those arrested will be released or what charges they may face.
The controversy centers around Rusal's failure to meet international environmental standards at its aluminum refinery in Fria, Guinea. Residents have long complained about the contamination of their air and water noise pollution from explosions as a result of the plant's activities.
The open letter to Rusal, a version of which was sent to Russian news outlets, was affixed with over 500 signatures.
"The Guinean people are waging a battle for their own dignity and right to life against a large foreign-controlled corporation whose actions are often carried out in a spirit of 19th-century colonialism," the letter attests. "In the town of Fria, skirmishes between police and residents protesting the barbaric treatment of their country's natural resources have already led to more than one death."
The petition concludes by calling on Rusal to make good on its promises to meet environmental standards in Guinea: "We assert to the leaders of Rusal our demand they take into consideration the interests of native Guineans, carefully study the environmental situation around their factories in our country and take immediate measures to alleviate the negative effects of their actions at these facilities."
No Rusal official came out to meet the protesters. The undelivered letter remained lying on the office grounds alongside a dead chicken -- the Guinean symbol of a broken promise. Rusal is a Russian aluminum major controlled by Russia's richest man Oleg Deripaska.