RESULT EQUAL TO FIGHT
Siranuysh Papyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
Published: 12:28:29 – 11/01/2012
Interview with the member of the Teghut Defense Group Mariam Sukhudyan
Mariam, after Kajaran and Trchkan actions, you are again returning
to Teghut. You are planning a protest action there on January 15. Why
has this issue revived? Is it determined by your success in Trchkan?
Yes, but this does not mean that we will forget Kajaran issues. Our
team has become bigger with the help of new activists and the nature
protection movement has strengthened. We are working in two parallel
directions -Kajaran and Teghut. The Teghut issue revived because the
Trchkan success encouraged us and opened a lot of new branches. For
example, Jermuk and Hrazdan are now fighting saying that the reason
is the Trchkan. This model works regardless of spheres.
Besides, we learnt that real mining activities, explosions will start
in Teghut in three months. So, it is an urgent issue.
What is the situation in Teghut with regards to tree cuttings?
A couple of days ago, our group members returned from there. Much
is done there, but it is only the five percent of the whole work
still to be done, and the environmental losses we have there is too
small in comparison to possible future losses caused by the wastes
in mountains. There is still possibility to save the forests.
71 hectares have already been destroyed.
But there are still thousands of hectares planned to be destroyed.
This ill-fated project will not only lead to the loss of forests,
but also will result in 500 tons of wastes to be thrown into the
valley which will be a bomb for the current and future generations.
Visiting Kajaran, we saw the disaster and understood that we will
have a worse situation in Armenia’s north. When you don’t see the
situation, you can’t imagine and understand the real loss. We felt
the death in Syunik region.
A couple of years ago when the fight for Teghut started, youths were
not so active. Do you see any difference today?
Yes I do. I have been involved in the fight since 2007 and I can see
the conscience increase. The people evaluate themselves and understand
that they need to find the guilt in them, because they are the builders
of the country. The ecological conscience also increases.
Sure the increase of the conscience is “boosted” also by the tragic
situation of the country because a couple of years ago people used to
say that our rumor is senseless, but then you see that they destroy
the Teghut forest, they open gold mines near Lake Sevan, iron mine
near Tatev monastery, they intend to exploit an open mine in the
center of Hrazdan, an iron mine in Abovyan and so on. On the one hand,
you see the mining animal killing us, but on the other hand, you see
that people living in Syunik, which exports so many raw materials,
live in miserable conditions.
Though combine employees have health insurance, they receive the
insurance money only if they know someone in that system, the others
are constrained to care for their health problems with their money.
Our country is eco-colonizing. In the end, they understand that this
is not only green movements but it is a national issue.
Mariam, very often we can hear opinions that if civil initiatives
direct their vector of activities to politics, they will succeed. Will
you do that in election period? Will you fight against rigged
elections?
People often ask me whether our movement will become political. I
need to say that we influence the system through our fight. Our aim
is not the power, or making part of a party, but I know that not
being a party member but fighting for Teghur, Trchkan and Armenia,
we form a new system. The civil society creates the reforms in the
political field. Today, I see that we will be able to change our
country and system in this way of which we are so terrified, better
than through elections.
Fight is not carried out from election to election, but every
day…every instance.
For me Armenia is an organism, which has many parasites, which, if
you start to clean them, will escape from the organism. And we are
following this path. If everyone goes until the end in their spheres,
the system will change.
If we are defective from the inside, the solution will come from
the inside.
If the poison is inside, if the people are not combatant but compliant,
whoever the president is, the people will overthrow them.
Today’s system is the mirror of our inside.
We don’t need to dream of a hero who will come and save Armenia and
will reform everything in one second as soon as in the office of
the president.
This means that I am waiting for a savior to do my job instead of me.
So, who am I? Which is my mission?