March against mining gold at Amulsar Mine held in Armenia

An international expert group has concluded that environmental risks are minimal from operating the Amulsar gold deposit in Armenia. After that, more than 500 residents of the city of Jermuk held an action protesting against such a conclusion.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 11, 2019, over 300 activists organized a motor rally along roads of Armenia, protesting against the development of the Amulsar field. At the same time, residents of Jermuk and surrounding villages warned the authorities that if their position in the field issue was not taken into account, a new wave of protests would be launched.

On August 14, the Investigating Committee (IC) of Armenia published an expert conclusion on risk assessment of mining gold from the Amulsar deposit, drafted by the Lebanese Company "Advanced Resources Development" (ELARD), the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

On August 14, Yuri Ivanyan, an investigator of the Chief Department for Especially Important Cases of the Armenia's IC, stated at a press conference that his Department has no grounds for criminal prosecution of the "Lydian Armenia" Company for operating the Amulsar field. According to his version, the development of the field has no uncontrolled environmental risks.

This statement has outraged residents of Jermuk, located ten kilometres from the field. About half an hour after the end of the press conference, over 500 people responded to the call to go out to the streets of the city, Shirak Buniatyan, a resident of Jermuk, told the "Caucasian Knot".

Mr Buniatyan has noted that the townspeople dissatisfied with the experts' conclusion marched through the streets of Jermuk. "We are resolutely committed not to allow our children's future to be at risk," the resident of Jermuk has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 15, 2019 at 03:50 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.