Defence of Kharkiv’s Gorky Park: continues

Aleksei Vedmidsky on behalf of the environmental NGO Pechenihy has managed to convey a statement from the Park where he and around a hundred other people are trying to stop the barbaric and probably unlawful destruction of a huge number of trees.

He reports that Mr Zhdanyuk, the Chief Engineer of the company “Parking” arrived and presented an order for preparatory work as well as a “document” without date, signatures or stamp regarding forest inspection, geodesic survey and fixing of borders.

At a meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, he reports, that the Acting Mayor H. Kernes stated that the road would at any price be built. He also stated that Pechynihy is paid by the former Governor of the Kharkiv Region, Avakov. One of the deputies also claimed that members of the group had thrown stones and nails at police officers.

The environmental NGO Pechenihy informs that none of this has any foundation in truth. They are not paid by anybody and nobody threw any stones or nails.

Alexei Vedmidsky reports that there are around 100 defenders of the Park present, as well as police officers, including colonels and lieutenant colonels.

The law enforcement agencies are not making any effort to record the number and size of the logs. In our view all of these actions are aimed at concealing evidence of unlawful felling and the size of this.