Russia: "People of the earth, do whatever you can to stop this genocide"
Over 2000 residents of Myski district in Russia's coal mining region of Kuzbass in Southern Siberia have signed the following appeal to stop the ongoing destruction of the Shor ancestral land which they fear is leading up to their genocide.
UPDATE: a petition to Russian president Putin (in Russian) has been launched, urging him to stop an impending genocide
"WE, residents of the city of Myski and of Shor villages in Myski municipal district, consider the operations of the Kiizassky open cast mine the territories where indigenous Shors have been carrying out their livelihood activities and where they have lived since time immemorial, to be unacceptable, criminal and probably leading up to the genocide of the Shor people.
Time and again we have appealed to authorities at various levels of government, including the president of the Russian Federation. Many of our complaints have not been accepted by judges under different pretexts. The outcome is zero.
Thanks to the actions of the authorities over the last 10 years, the Shor people living in the Myski district finally lost the right to decisions-making in relation to their ancestral territories of traditional nature use. The legal decisions leading up to this were taken in secrecy, concealed from the inhabitants. This was done in order to give the land, which is the means of existence of the people, to mining companies.
Today, mining companies have begun the destruction of the last remaining parcels of untouched nature in the area of Myski.
The enterprise playing the most active role is OJSC “Razrez Kiizassky”. It was this company which destroyed (poisoned) the last spawning rivers left in the Myski vicinity, which has destroyed and continues to destroy fishing grounds, which pollutes the air in places inhabited by Shor people. Throughout the entire area, everything is poisoned already!
No man can have a dignified existence under these environmental conditions, and especially indigenous people cannot. People are forced to relocate. Those who, for whatever reason, are unable to leave the poisoned region, will die first because the indigenous people are least capable of withstanding the growing human caused pollution. Today, according to official data of the Kemerovo administration, there are only 10,000 Shors left.
We appeal to all authorities, all political parties, civil society organizations at all levels and territories, private persons and business entities in and outside the Russian Federation:
People of Earth, do whatever you can to stop this genocide, don’t allow the Shor people to disappear!!!"
The undersigned
