Authorities ban environmental rally in Gelendzhik planned by activists

The activists' request to hold a rally in Gelendzhik, dedicated to the environmental problems of the city, was denied. Instead, officials offered them to hold a protest action in the village of Kabardinka. The organizers disagreed and insist on holding a rally within the city.

The activists had planned to hold an action on August 25 in the square in front of the "Burevestnik" Cinema. Officials motivated their refusal by the fact that on this day a poetic contest had already been planned in this place, and offered the organizers to move to the village of Kabardinka, located 20 kilometres off Gelendzhik, the organizers of the rally told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The organizers disagreed with the officials' offer, and submitted their objections to the Mayoralty, justifying their demands with the "public importance of the topic of the rally."

"We are ready to adjust the time of the rally so that it will be held after the contest; and we are ready to hold it in other places of equal value," says the objection (a copy of the document is available at the "Caucasian Knot").

Otherwise, activists promised to take part in the poetic contest with their verses and tell about environmental problems of the city right at the event.

The organizers of the protest rally told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that at the rally they plan to disclose information about environmental problems at the resort city and the danger of swimming in the Black Sea in Gelendzhik in summer.

They see the real reason for the refusal in the fact that bureaucrats are unwilling to publicize the problems with the pollution of beaches on the Black Sea.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 15, 2018 at 06:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.