ArmInfo. For the fourth day, actions against the development of the Amulsar gold mine continue. As activist of the movement Gohar Hunanyan said in an interview with ArmInfo correspondent, the situation is relatively calm today. <At the moment, the situation around the mine in the morning without incident. The cabins installed by Lydian Armenia have been dismantled, "the activist emphasized.
To note, these cabins were built by the company to start blasting operations in an open mine. The houses were built under high-voltage power grids, which is unacceptable from a safety point of view.
Hunanyan also stressed that the whole world today is fighting for the preservation of the ecology, however, in Armenia the situation is the opposite. "We are fighting for clean air and clean water. Jermuk is a resort like Karlovy Vary and Kislovodsk. And it will be very disappointing if the development of the mine has a negative impact on the environment. The government of the country constantly says that new jobs will be created with the development of the mine. But ecology is much more important. The negative impact of the mine will affect the whole country, not only Jermuk. Almost the entire city of Jermuk is fighting for the mine not to be developed , "Hunanyan emphasized.
The activist also noted that she moved to Armenia from the United States, where she lived for more than 25 years, and she is very upset that the beautiful ecology of the resort city can be destroyed in one day. "During the USSR, my father was the director of the Jermuk mineral water plant. I have been familiar with the problems of the city, its ecology since childhood. In 2019, I met with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Introduced this problem to him. I hope that the government will finally adequately respond to the current situation. Each of our governments makes mistakes, and the people suffer. We believe the promises, but they turn out to be a lie, "Hunanyan emphasized. "Life or wealth? I think the conclusion is obvious," Hunanyan concluded.
To note, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian International. Environmentalists and ordinary citizens are concerned that the development of the gold mine may lead to the pollution of groundwater in Jermuk and Lake Sevan. In addition to the water basin, the public is also concerned about the possible presence of uranium occurrences at the mine, as evidenced by geological exploration data from the Soviet era. For more than a year and a half, environmental activists have blocked the road to the mine. Since this week, law enforcement agencies have tried to unblock the approaches to the mine, but they failed to achieve visible results. Jermuk activists and residents stepped up blockages on the road and went to a sit-in protest after the company, hoping to reopen the mine, erected bunkers and was about to start blasting the mine.