reprinted with permission from
Poison Fire, Sacred Earth,
TESTIMONIES, LECTURES, CONCLUSIONS,
THE WORLD URANIUM HEARING, SALZBURG 1992
page 266
What used to be called the Soviet Union
no longer exists. But what does exist is a human
union of nuclear victims caused by the former
Soviet empire. It is very probable that among
nuclear development countries the former Soviet
Union is the greatest nuclear disaster zone. We,
its victims, hostages and indigenous peoples do
not await a nuclear doomsday, we are fighting
together with you.
Vladimir Nechunaev
Vladimir Nechunaev, Estonia. Member of the Estonian Chernobyl Committee
Dear Friends, nuclear-free life
Champions! We, the participants of The World Uranium
Hearing representing the peoples of the former Soviet
Union, hereby address ourselves to organizers and
sponsors, witnesses and listeners, lecturers and
observers, the media with the appeal as follows:
What used to be called the Soviet Union
no longer exists. But what does exist is a human
union of nuclear victims caused by the former
Soviet empire. It is very probable that among
nuclear development countries the former Soviet
Union is the greatest nuclear disaster zone. We,
its victims, hostages and indigenous peoples do
not await a nuclear doomsday, we are fighting
together with you.
We turn to you with an appeal for mutual
cooperation, we ask The World Uranium Hearing,
its sponsors and prominent supporters to establish
a regional coordinator for the former Soviet Union
in order to carry out systematic contacts, that is,
information gathering, extended medical
assistance for nuclear victims. In one word, the
support of the international community in the
freeing from the Soviet nuclear monster.
We thank you that we were able to be
with you here today. Let's join our efforts! It's
only united that we can survive. Thank you.
We would like this appeal to be
recorded in the documentations of the Hearing,
and would hope for a positive response.
My personal thanks to you, my new
personal friends. There is no justification for
nuclear invaders. The alternative still exists!
Joanna Macy (Moderator)
Two witnesses now from the Massif Centrale in France: Martine Deguillaume, Roger Belbeoch.