Ecologists state that Togliattiazot does not carry out promised public consultations

According to the news release signed by the representatives of ecological organizations of the South Federal District Inna Achkasova (the Atshi Movement) and Andrey Rudomakha (the Social and Ecological Union of the West Caucasus), on July 23, 2003, the EBRD and the IFC formally started a public consultations procedure provided by the norms of these international institutions in order to decide the question of financing the project of the liquid ammonia reloading complex construction carrying out by the Togliattiazot corporation on the Taman peninsula. The process of consultations is to be finished in October, 2003. The Togliattiazot corporation is responsible for the organization of public consultations.

The news release says that activists of the Social and Ecological Union of the West Caucasus and the Atshi Movement have carried out an independent investigation to check whether these public consultations are really being held. The investigation has not been completed yet, but the following has already been found out: "No consultations are virtually being held, no ecologically significant information about the project is provided. The process of consultations is fictitious".

In this connection, the Social and Ecological Union of the West Caucasus is inclined to appeal to the EBRD and the IFC with the demand that the terms of the consultations start should be reserved, a real mechanism to timely inform the interested parties of the consultations should be provided, as well as the access to ecologically significant information on the project of the ammoniac terminal.