new anti-lynas rally set for april 14

http://my.news.yahoo.com/anti-lynas-group-to-hold-second-rally-eyes-094931648.html

By Lisa J. Ariffin

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Buoyed by the success of its demonstration last month, Solidariti SeMalaysia Himpunan Hijau will hold a nationwide rally on April 14 to protest the Lynas Advance Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, Kuantan.

Himpunan Hijau spokesman Zulkefly Mohamad Omar today said the event was to show that Lynas was a nationwide issue and not confined to Pahang alone.

“To me, this issue does not only involve the people of Pahang and the Chinese community, but all Malaysians, regardless of race,” Zulkefly was quoted as saying today by Harakahdaily.

“It’s about the people’s health,” added the PAS Environment Centre chairman.

Zulkefly urged the public to participate in this “peaceful assembly” as a measure to protest against Lynas and other future projects of its type.

The main assembly will be held at Dataran Kemerdekaan in Shah Alam. Other locations around the country will be determined later.

Last month, thousands of anti-Lynas protestors attended an opposition-backed rally by Himpunan Hijau in Kuantan, the largest protest yet against the rare earth plant that is expected to fire up later this year.

Critics of the refinery want the government to halt its construction and direct the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) to reverse its decision to grant a temporary operating licence (TOL) to Lynas, which will allow it to embark on a two-year trial run.

They allege that Lynas has failed to give sufficient assurance on how it will handle the low-level radioactive waste that will be produced at the plant.

Putrajaya has been under pressure from anti-Lynas groups to shut down the rare earths project over safety concerns. But the government has stood its ground on the project that was first earmarked for Terengganu.

The Sydney-based company maintains that waste from its rare earths refinery will not be harmful and can be recycled for “commercial applications”.