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apparently on a charge of being in con­ which extols atheism as ''scientific", Soviet biologist tact with the illegal Chronicle of the the attempt to implicate Kovalev with arrested in Moscow Lithuanian Catholic Church. This a religious journal may be, to a certain journal, which has a nationalist as well extent, a kind of smearing of his from Vera Rich as a religious slant, has already been intellectual status. THE arrest of the Moscow biologist the cause of arrest of a number of Nevertheless, these moves to dispel on December 27, 1974, Lithuanians; at the end of November, publicity from the arrest and forth­ seems to mark yet another hardening however, at the request of the Lithu­ coming trial have not met with un­ of Soviet pressure on intellec­ anian KGB, a number of prominent mitigated success. An appeal organised tuals. Moscow , including physicist by Academician Sakharov on Kovalev's Kovalev, whose main scientific work Andrei Tverdokhlebov, had their apart­ behalf has been signed by no less than has been in the fields of mathematical ments searched. Like Kovalev himself, 50 Soviet intellectuals, including lin­ biology and genetics (itself, until those involved do not appear to be guists, mathematicians and research recently, a susp1c10us activity, by Lithuanians, Kovalev's professional scientists. C Soviet standards) is a member of contacts with Lithuanians appear to be Sakharov's Initiative Group for the slight-only one of his published papers Toxic chemicals Defence of in the USSR, (Biofizika, 15, No. 1, 147-155) includes and also of a small group of Amnesty a Lithuanian, 1. Dudzyavichyus, among register first step International, set up in Moscow in the co-authors. He is, however, re­ from Peter Collin.I', Ge11e1•a 1974. He has been active in the defence ported to have intervened in April 1974, of prisoners of conscience within the in the case of a Lithuanian woman BASIC agreement on -the establishment USSR, and in campaigning for the free claiming US citizenship, who was and organisation of the proposed Inter­ circulation of ideas and information. arrested while attempting to reach the national Register of Potentially Toxic In 1974, when the "Chronicle American Embassy in Moscow. It Chemicals (IRPTC), was reached at the of Current Events" resumed publication would seem difficult, simply on these meeting held at BHthoven, Netherlands, after an 18 month gap, Kovalev was one grounds, to present Kovalev as a last month (Nature, January I 7). Inter­ of the three dissidents who publicly fanatic in the cause of Lithuanian est in the meeting was considerably claimed responsibility for its publica­ separatism. more than had been expected by its tion, being convinced "of the necessity Nevertheless, the charge is that of organisers, the Netherlands government for truthful information concerning the possessing and disseminating copies of and the United Nations Environment infringements of fundamental human the Chronicle of the Lithuanian Cath­ Programme, 57 scientists representing rights in the USSR and for its avail­ olic Church. Whether in fact Kovalev 27 countries and institutions being pres­ ability to those interested." On the very did, in his capacity as a campaigner for ent. Besides the decision on basic or­ day of his arrest, in a New Year's human rights, have some copies of this ganisation (a central unit correlating message telephoned to London, Kovalev Chronicle in his possession is not and disseminating data from a network and Sakharov appealed "from a huge known. The accusation does, however, of national sources) there was fruitful and tragic country, the fate of which have a number of advantages for the discussion of the type of work pro­ has huge influence on the life of the prosecution. Firstly, the case against gramme that could realistically be whole world" for a general amnesty the Chronicle of the Lithuanian Cath­ undertaken in compiling -the register. for prisoners of conscience, mentioning olic Church has already been opened, For this purpose, there should be an among others mathematician Leonid and it is simply a matter of adding "intensive" programme, providing com­ Plyushch, biologist Vladimir Bukovskii, another name to the list of the accused, prehensive information on a relatively and psychiatrist Semeon Gluzman. "Let rather than opening a new case. Second, small number of particularly important a general political amnesty open for our the trial will take place in Vil'nyus, substances; and a much larger "exten­ country and for all countries of the capital of the Lithuanian SSR, away sive" programme listing a restricted world the way to freedom and a good from the focus of attention which a number of attributes of many more and sensible life." Moscow trial would he for Western compounds. The intensive programme, The same day, Kovalev was arrested, journalists. And thirdly, in a society it is sugges,ted, should start with a pilot project confined to a small number of chemicals; the object would be to test "CHEMOSYNTHESIS"' the reduction of else exist only as theoretical projects the best format for presentation of the metals from their ores by means of (extraction of nickel, thallium, molyb­ ma,terial, to study means of collecting bacteria, ~s becoming an important denum, titanium and the micro­ the data and checki,ng their validity, field of research in the Soviet metallur­ biological lysis of aluminosilicates), and to estimate the costs of operating gical industry, and is considered of some have already been introduced on this programme. The extensive pro­ a small industrial scale. Such plants, great potential in the use of a wide gramme, on the other hand, would be for the extraction of coppe-r, uranium "open-ended", and might start by mak­ range of ores from bauxite to gold and zinc, are already operating m agglomerates and uranium ores. Their ing use of information from existing Kazakhstan and the Urals. data files. Use could be made of use of bacteria ranges from the effec­ An intensive search is going on, in the facilities of the UNEP's Inter­ tive utilisation of ores such as the car­ the research institutes of the Ministries national Referral System for Sources of bonate ores of manganese, where concerned, to find new strains of ther­ Environmental Information (IRS), present methods lose up to 35 '¼ of the mophilic bacteria, multiplying at which is in a position to provide infor­ available metal (the chemosynthesis 55-60° C, which can -reduce metal ores. mation on the whereabouts and caoa­ method yields up to 97.5% metal even The details of the processes involved hiJi.ties of existing data collections. This f.rom low-grnde ores), to the extraction remain obscure, but investigations on initial survey should cover information of gold and tin from arsenic-bearing gold ores have g,iven strong indications of a fairly general nature as well as agglomerates. that the bacteria and other micro­ data on individual chemicals. It should While some such processes are still organisms concerned a·re capable of he matched by a survey of potential forming organic compounds containing only in the pilot-plant stage (the extrac­ users of the register, and could thus the gold in the course of their tion of gold, manganese, bismuth, lead, lead to a preliminary version of the metabolic processes. antimony, lithium, or germanium) or proposed network di-rectory which

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