North-Ossetian "Rospotrebnadzor" refuses conciliating with "Electrozink"

Today, at the Arbitration Court of Vladikavkaz, the Department of "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision) in North Ossetia rejected an amicable agreement on the lawsuit with the "Electrozink" Factory. In the opinion of the Department's representatives, the terms of the agreement fail to meet the requirements for creating a due sanitary-protective zone around the enterprise.

Well before the start of the court session, ecologist Atsamaz Khadikov and Anatoly Kalkhidov, who represented the public of Vladikavkaz, held their solitary pickets in front of the court building, and later, already in the courtroom, Mr Kalkhidov addressed the "Electrozink" officials and asked them to leave North Ossetia.

In the course of the session, lawyer Ilya Gotikoev, who represented the claimant - the "Rospotrebnadzor", told the audience that they had acquainted themselves with the "Electrozink" project and rejected it. Mr Gotikoev noted that the project was not signed by the factory bosses. Also, as he said, the document "fails to assume all the measures as stipulated by the sanitary legislation."

The "Rospotrebnadzor" offered its own agreement, which contains all the measures to be taken in conformity with the sanitary standards.

Lawyer of the "Electrozink" Mikhail Andreev moved a petition to extend the term for considering the amicable agreement.

Judge Marina Kopteva noted that the trial was long ago outside the remedial term and gave one month to the parties for signing the amicable agreement. She doubted that the agreement would ever be signed; however, the factory spokesman assured that the parties should for sure come to agreement.

Public activists who go on with their protest actions against the factory since last October said today that they are against the amicable agreement. In their opinion, the only way to improve the ecology of the region and residents' health condition is to stop the factory and all similar enterprises completely. As stated by ecologist Atsamaz Khadikov, at the background of reduced population and growth in oncology diseases "no amicable agreement is possible."

The next session to deal with the claim of the "Rospotrebnadzor" against "Electrozink" will take place on March 25 at 2 p.m. at the Arbitration Court of Vladikavkaz.