Kazakhstan activists poised to create coalition to close Russian military test sites

Kazakhstan activists are poised to create a coalition For Closure of Russian Military Test Sites, Tengrinews.kz reports from the scientific-research conference called Russian military test sites in Kazakhstan: impact on people’s health and prospects. “What will happen to these lands? What will be the effect of the chemicals that get into the soil? What is the future of our fresh water? We have decided that the time has come to unite the civil population of our country and demand that our government and the neighbors who use our lands carelessly solve these problems,” the president of Kazakhstan Ecological Fund Mussagali Duambekov said. The coalition will not only be working on closing the Russian military test sites - there are 8 of them at the territory of Kazakhstan, Duambekov said. “The coalition will demand a full ban of Proton rocket launches propelled by heptyle-containing fuel, closure of military test sites in Kazakhstan and a less intensive development of natural resources,” he said. By Renat Tashkinbayev