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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Miners Doomed to Extinction

13 November, 2012 - 00:00

Skochynsky mine workers demand independent investigation of the causes of the tragedy.

Five persons died and four were wounded by a methane explosion and outburst at the Petrivska mine in Donetsk on May 11, reports Interfax-Ukraine. The search for one miner continues. The Ministry of Emergency Management specified that the accident occurred during blasting operations.

According to the National Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, 767 mine workers were killed from 1996 to March 1998. And in the first four months of this year 157 miners. During the first 12 days of May, 15 miners died.

By on May 12, the number of striking Ukrainian mines rose to 45 (employing over 120,000 miners), said union leader Mykhailo Volynets told Reuters. According to the Coal Ministry, 33 mines (12,436 workers) are on strike. The union stressed that miners are under pressure and “receive direct threats” from management, coal associations, and the Coal Ministry. Soon the union will publish a list of those threatening striking miners. The key demand of the strikers is that they should be paid their back wages.

One month has elapsed since the catastrophe at the Skochynsky mine in Donetsk, and despite the conclusions of a government commission, the miners continue to give various versions of what actually occurred on April 4 at the depth of 1300 meters. Many miners, including eyewitnesses, do not believe that “the explosion was caused by methane ignition in the hopper due to sparks from the hopper conveyor motor followed by coal dust explosion”.

Remarkably, mistrust in the special investigation’s final report was felt even before anybody in Donetsk saw it, which was signed on April 15.

The most sensational (and of course, unofficial) version is sabotage. Miners who survived the accident maintain that immediately after the explosion they could feel the smell of the explosive, ammonite.

Other versions pointed to blasting operations and high gas levels in the mine, of which many are alleged to have been aware. Experts also deny these versions as well. However, the massive investigation report of one thousand pages and signed by unquestionable authorities does admit that an “extraordinary” event occurred in the mine on April 4. Methane exploded in a fresh air flow. The miners who voiced their concerns in public said that the commission had ignored their evidence and if the true cause was not pinpointed and eliminated, it all could happen again. Miners demand that a new investigation be carried out with the participation of their colleagues who have known the mine for many years.

As far back as 1994, during his pre-election visit to the Donbas, Leonid Kuchma said: “I am well aware of the miners’ problems and know about them even through my family: my brother is a miner. And my first step as President will be aimed at rehabilitating the coal industry.” Miners believed him then, and many of them voted for him. Four years later nothing has changed. The government again cut the 1998 budget for the coal industry. The knot of problems tightens, and we must be prepared for still other tragedies.

Donetsk - Kyiv

Reuters photo:

When will bayonets not be associated with catafalques?

 

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