Translated by Ollie Richardson
00:28:29
04/04/2018
smi.pp.ua
The fact that wood continues to be taken out of Ukraine by echelons is a direct consequence of the provocative European policy encouraging this smuggling. This was stated during a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada by the deputy from the “Opposition Bloc” Igor Shurma.
Concerning the problem of the disappearance of the forest in the Carpathians, the deputy noted that it is necessary to ban any felling in this region in general.
“Thousands of trucks and echelons leave towards Europe in the form of round-wood timber or under another name. We say that it is smuggling. If we have such partners in Europe who very much worry about overcoming corruption and smuggling in Ukraine, and they know that it is illicit goods, then why do they accept these wood echelons and trucks? They become complicit in smuggling, and the problem is not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. Don’t make Ukrainians criminals!” said Shurma.
He noted that the deplorable condition of the Carpathian forests is the consequence of the European provocation.
“Let them block the border and refuse to accept and process the wood, and then our people from rural areas won’t take part in these developments. Therefore it is a double-edged sword. There is a need to appeal to the European public: ‘Stop provoking smuggling in Ukraine! Don’t buy it, and we won’t have it’,” stated the Ukrainian deputy.
[From 1:56:00 onwards]
It should be noted that during the same evening session in the Rada the draft law “On amendments to some laws of Ukraine (regarding the introduction of a ban on the continuous cutting of beech trees on the mountain slopes of the Carpathian region)” was adopted. According to the text of the bill, the draft law proposes to prohibit tree felling in the economic zone of national natural parks and reserves, as well as the continuous felling of the beech trees on the steep slopes of the Carpathian region.
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