On August 26th the New York Times reported that Russian President Medvedev, reacting to the global public outcry, postponed construction of the highway through the Khimki Forest on the outskirts of Moscow. From the NY Times article:
“Given the number of appeals, I have made a decision,” Mr. Medvedev said in a message on his video blog. “I order the government to halt the implementation of the decision to build this highway and conduct further civic and expert discussions.”
“This has flabbergasted us. It was completely unexpected,” said Sergei Ageyev, a member of the environmental group leading the opposition to the highway. “It is simply a stunning victory for civil society.”
In July, the EarthAction Network issued an Action Alert to its 2,600 Partner Organizations in over 150 countries asking them to write to President Medvedev and ask him to stop construction of the highway through the Khimki Forest. We are pleased to have helped with this "stunning victory for civil society."
Read the whole article here.
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