22:04, 21 September 2019

March in Yerevan against development of Amulsar field was over thousand strong

March against the development of Amulsar field. Photo by Tigran Petrosyan for the "Caucasian Knot"

Authorities should stop issuing permits to mining companies, the marchers have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 11, at a protest action in Yerevan, activists demanded from the Armenian government to take a final decision on the development of the Amulsar field before September 20.

Residents of the city of Jermuk, located 10 kilometres from the field, believe that gold mining will turn the resort city into a mining one.

On September 20, opponents of the operation of the Amulsar field held a march with a demand to revoke the license granted in 2016 to the "Lydian Armenia" Company to develop the gold field.

There are enough reasons for revoking the license from the "Lydian Armenia", but the government is protracting the decision-making, said Levon Galstyan, an activist of the Pan-Armenian Environmental Front.

He has noted that for 9 years ecologists emphasized threats of development of the Amulsar field. According to his version, after the "velvet revolution" activists have expected from the new authorities to ban the exploitation of the field.

Authorities should abandon the mining industry as the main component of the national economy; it is necessary to develop the country, by preserving the environment, said Ani Khachatryan, activist.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 21, 2019 at 03:49 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Tigran Petrosyan

Source: CK correspondent