Title: Russian parliament concerned about US plans to develop new weapon  

Document Number: FBIS-SOV-2002-0808
Document Date: 08 Aug 2002
Division: Russia, North America 
Subdivision: Russia, United States 
Sourceline: CEP20020808000087 Moscow Interfax in English 1009 GMT 8 Aug 02 
Citysource: Moscow Interfax 
Language: English 


[FBIS Transcribed Text]    MOSCOW. Aug 8 (Interfax) - The Russian State 
Duma has expressed concern about the United States' program to develop a 
qualitatively new type of weapon. 
   "Under the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), the 
U.S. is creating new integral geophysical weapons that may influence the 
near-Earth medium with high-frequency radio waves," the State Duma said 
in an appeal circulated on Thursday. 
   "The significance of this qualitative leap could be compared to the 
transition from cold steel to fire arms, or from conventional weapons to 
nuclear weapons. This new type of weapons differs from previous types in 
that the near-Earth medium becomes at once an object of direct influence 
and its component. 
   These conclusions were made by the commission of the State Duma's 
international affairs and defense committees, the statement reads. 
   The committees reported that the U.S. is planning to test three 
facilities of this kind. One of them is located on the military testing 
ground in Alaska and its full-scale tests are to begin in early 2003. The 
second one is in Greenland and the third one in Norway. 
   "When these facilities are launched into space from Norway, Alsaka and 
Greenland, a closed contour will be created with a truly fantastic 
integral potential for influencing the near-Earth medium," the State Duma 
said. 
   The U.S. plans to carry out large-scale scientific experiments, under 
the HAARP program, and not controlled by the global community, will 
create weapons capable of breaking radio communication lines and 
equipment installed on spaceships and rockets, provoke serious accidents 
in electricity networks and in oil and gas pipelines and have a negative 
impact on the mental health of people populating entire regions, the 
deputies said. 
   They demanded that an international ban be put on such large-scale 
geophysical experiments. 
   The appeal, signed by 90 deputies, has been sent to President Vladimir 
Putin, to the United Nations and other international organizations, to 
the parliaments and leaders of the UN member countries, to the scientific 
public and to mass media outlets. 
   Among those who signed the appeal are Tatyana Astrakhankina, Nikolai 
Kharitonov, Yegor Ligachev, Sergei Reshulsky, Vitaly Sevastyanov, Viktor 
Cherepkov, Valentin Zorkaltsev and Alexei Mitrofanov. 

[Description of Source: Moscow Interfax in English -- non-government 
information agency known for its aggressive reporting, extensive economic 
coverage, and good coverage of Russia's regions]