Russian Academy of Sciences and the Duma member Boris Kashin in Arctic Initiative 6.6. in Helsinki

Arctic Initiative is an open forum for political parties, NGO´s, civil societies activists – environmental- peace- and human rights / indigenous rights organizations, workers and individual activists.

With Russian Academic Boris Kashin Arctic issues such as Environment, Security and Indigenous Rights open also amog others Lassi Heininen (University of Lapland) Josef Baum ( University of Wienna) Hanna Helander (City Samit, Maite Mola vice President of the European Left and JP ( Juha-Pekka) Väisänen chairman of the Communist Party of Finland

-International global neoliberal plans to exploit the natural resources hit the Arctic. Confrontation of the NATO and Russia is present. Indigenous rights are oppressed by the interests of the big capital. Time urges political parties, civil society, NGO´s, environmental – human rights and peace organizations, academic people, investigators and researchers, workers, artists, intellectuals and activists to make a statement and participate in common discussion about environment-security and human right issues in the Arctic, says JP Väisänen chairman of the Communist Party of Finland

ARCTIC INITIATIVE PROGRAM

On Monday the 6th of June, 2016 at Kirjan talo, Kirjatyöntekijänkatu 10

The language of the seminar is English. There is simultaneously translation into Finnish via headphones.

PROGRAM

09.00 RECALAIM: Before the opening of the event international guests gather outside the Cumulus hotel and march together from Hotel to the Event ( 800 meters / 10 minutes) carrying the event banner with logo and text “ For Environment, Peace and Indigenous Rights”. Photo session at Pitkäsilta-bridge which is a Finnish symbol of class division. Hotel Cumulus is at the working class part of the city and Event place Kirjan talo at the bourgeois part.

10.00 Cultural intervention, Merikukka Kiviharju, Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament (PAND)

10.15 Opening words JP (Juha-Pekka) Väisänen, Chairman of the Communist Party of Finland, and Member of the European Left (EL) Executive Board

10.30 Plenary Session

DOUBLE EXPLOITATION, MILITARIZATION OF THE ARCTIC AND ALTERNATIVES –

Options on the socio-ecological development of the Arctic in the era of climate change

Key note speech by Josef Baum, Economist, geographer; interdisciplinary senior researcher, Department of East Asian Studies -University of Vienna, Austria, Member of board of Transform! Austria, Member of the EL Environmental group

The utilization of resources, the environment, climate change and the military – conceptualizing the new security nexus of the globalized Arctic

Key note speech by Lassi Heininen, Professor Arctic Politics, University of Lapland

FOR INDIGINOUS PEOPLE’S RIGHTS

Key note speech Hanna Helander, President of the City Sámit organization (for Sámi people’s rights)

12.30 Lunch

13.30 – 15.00 three parallel Working Groups with equal program structure

WG 1: FOR SUSTAINABLE ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Welcome words and orientation by Working Group facilitator; Johanna Scheringer-Wright, researcher (agriculture and Environment), MP in Thuringia and Speaker for Agriculture and Rural development, Member of National Executive Committee of DIE LINKE., Germany, member of EL Environmental WG

Warning Signs Require Humanity to Take Action

Introduction by Marc Brodine, activist, writer and artist, Chairman of the National Environmental Commission of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) writes on environmental issues for the journal the People´s World.

Introduction by Hervé, Bramy, member of of EL Environmental WG, Communist Party of France, France

Introduction by Riikka Kaikkonen member of EL Environmental WG, Communist Party of Finland, Finland

With special participation of

Mike Wright, die Linke from Germany

Nelson Peralta, Left Bloc from Portugal

Piera Muccigrosso, EL Brussels office

Davide Raffini, EL Brussels office

With the participation of key note speaker Josef Baum, Economist and Geographer, Communist Party of Austria, European Left Environmental Working Group

Debate and conclusions from the Working Group

WG 2: FOR PEACE – AGAINST MILITARIZATION AND WAR

Welcome words and orientation by Ilya Zorikhin-Nilsson, International Secretary Communist Party of Sweden (SKP)

Intervention by Boris Kashin, member of the Central committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Deputy of the State Duma ( member of Parliament), academician of Russian Academy of Sciences.

Intervention by Harald Reppesgaard, Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of Norway and chief-editor of ”Frihten” newspaper.

Neiter Washington nor Moscow

Introduction by Max Anttila, Secretary General of the Communist Youth League of Finland

With the participation of key note speaker Lassi Heininen Professor Arctic Politics, University of Lapland

Debate and conclusions from the Working Group

WG 3: FOR INDIGINOUS PEOPLE’S RIGHTS

Welcome words and orientation by Reijo Rinne, Member of Environmental Working Group of the Communist Party of Finland

Introduction by Anni Ahlakorpi, Chairperson of the Left Youth of Finland

Introduction by Tapio Siirilä, Lapland Regional Political Secretary of the Communist Party of Finland

Introduciton by Mikko Vartiainen chairman of Communist Workers` party (Finland) researcher of international law and peoples rights, in the University of Lapland

With participation of key note speaker Hanna Helander, President of the City Sámit organization

Debate and conclusions from the Working Group

15.00 Coffee

15.30 Plenary Session

Introduction by Maite Mola, Communist Party of Spain, Vice President of the European Left.

15.50 Conclusions and proposals for actions and statements from the WG1: For Peace – Against Militarization and War by Ilya Zorikhin-Nilsson International Secretary Communist Party of Sweden (SKP)

Conclusions and proposals for actions and statements from the WG2: For Indiginous People’s Rights by Anni Ahlakorpi, chairperson of the Left Youth of Finland

Conclusions and proposals for actions and statements from the WG3: Sustainable Ecological and Social Development by Johanna Scheringer-Wright, Die Linke from Germany, European Left Environmental Working Group

16.20 Debate and Conclusions

17. 30 Multicultural Arctic, Cultural intervention by writer, journalist Yousif Haddad

17.45 Merikukka Kiviharju, Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament (PAND)

18 Thank You and Good Bye!

List of Participants in Alphabetical order

Ahlakorpi, Anni, chairperson of the Left Youth of Finland

Anttila, Max, secretary general of the Communist Youth League of Finland

Baum, Josef, member of EL Environmental WG, Communist Party of Austria, Austria

Brodine, Marc, activist, writer and artist.Chairman of the National Environmental Commission of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), member of the CPUSA National Committee and National Board, USA

Harle Ritva, Community Artist, Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament (PAND), Finland

Heininen, Lassi, Professor Arctic Politics, University of Lapland, Finland

Helander, Hanna, President of the City Sámit

Hervé, Bramy, member of of EL Environmental WG, Communist Party of France, France

Kaikkonen, Riikka, member of EL Environmental WG, Communist Party of Finland, Finland

Kashin, Boris, member of the Central committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Deputy of the State Duma ( member of Parliament), academician of Russian Academy of Sciences.

Kiviharju, Merikukka, Singer and song writer, Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament (PAND), Finland

Mola, Maite, Vice President of the EL, Communist Party of Spain, Spain

Muccigrosso, Piera, Political secretary, EL Office, Brussels, Italy/Belgium

Nielsen, Hjørdis, Communist Party in Denmark, Denmark

Peralta, Nelson, member of EL Environmental WG, Left Bloc , Portugal

Polyakoff, Victor, Member of EL Executive Board, United Estonian Left, Estonia

Raffini, Davide, Political Secretary, EL Office, Brussels, Belgium

Rasmussen, Bjarne, International sekretary, Communist Party of Denmark, Denmark

Reppesgaard, Harald, chief-editor of ”Frihten” newspaper and vice-chairman of the Communist Party of Norway, Norway

Rinne, Reijo, Member of Environemental Working Group of the Communist Party of Finland

Scheringer-Wright, Johanna, researcher (agriculture and Environment), MP in Thuringia and Speaker for Agriculture and Rural development, Member of National Executive Committee of DIE LINKE., Germany, member of EL Environmental WG

Siirilä,Tapio, Lapland Regional Political Secretary of the Communist Party of Finland, Finland

Wright Mike, freelance journalist and activist, speaker of Ecology WG DIE LINKE. Germany, member of EL Environmental WG

Vartiainen, Mikko, chairman of Communist Workers` party (Finland) researcher of international law and peoples rights, in the University of Lapland, Finland.

Väisänen, JP (Juha-Pekka), Chairman of the Communist Party of Finland, EL Executive Board, Finland

Zorikhin-Nilsson, Ilya, International Secretary Communist Party of Sweden, Sweden

Arctic Initiative – Arktinen Aloite