Dear Editor
The Democratic Alliance expresses our profound concern over the disturbing detention of a Ukrainian biologist by Russian authorities on spurious charges of high treason, supposedly for threatening Russia’s oil and krill fishing ambitions in Antarctica. This story has been reported by several news outlets, notably The Guardian in the UK and Daily Maverick in South Africa.
The arrest came before the meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), a scientific forum within the Antarctic Treaty framework where Mr Leonid Pshenichnov was due to present research supporting the establishment of Marine Protected Areas.
This is a dangerous precedent and sovereign overreach. The inconvenience of facts and science to Russia’s extractive ambitions cannot justify their silencing of divergent, independent voices.
Mr Pshenichnov’s arrest violates Articles I through IV of the Antarctic Treaty itself, which enshrine the ideals of Antarctica as an apolitical space without “claim to territorial sovereignty”, “used for peaceful purposes only”, and where there will be “freedom of scientific investigation” and “scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available”.
In a democratic country with a human rights-driven Constitution, the only African signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, and a follower of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Democratic Alliance calls on:
- Russian authorities to release the detained scientist immediately, and to respect the rights of researchers operating under the Antarctic Treaty System and CCAMLR mandates.
- Antarctic Treaty Parties and Secretariat to condemn any attempt to weaponize prosecutorial mechanisms to intimidate or silence scientific actors in the Antarctic region.
- CCAMLR to escalate protections for Antarctic marine ecosystems, including strong protections for krill-dependent food webs and moratoria on mining or hydrocarbon exploration.
- The South African government, in its capacity as a Consultative Party, to reaffirm our role as a moral voice in Antarctic affairs, promoting transparency, environmental integrity, and scientific freedom.
- Cabinet to ratify the High Seas Treaty signed by Minister George earlier this year which will strengthen South Africa’s position on environmental protection and scientific cooperation.
As the DA, we reaffirm our stance that freedom of speech, scientific inquiry and environmental stewardship are intertwined. South Africa must not remain silent when global common goods like Antarctica are under threat, whether from political repression, unregulated exploitation or the sidelining of conservation science.
Regards
Andrew de Blocq MP
DA National Spokesperson for Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment