Aravot, Armenia
Aug 27 2019
Armenia to choose ‘lesser of two evils’ in gold mine row
Amulsar: Society and investors testing the state
by Ruben Mehrabyan
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from the Russian edition of Aravot]
What has been happening in Armenia over the past 20 years and in what way has the country been “run”? To form a clear view of this, suffice it to look at what is happening in the ore mining industry: This is a picture of the situation in deep colours.
New leadership trying to ‘curb despoilment’, balance interests
The reality is quite “in conformity with the law”. Everything “is correct on the books”. However, this fails to ease the feeling that the country has been subject to an illegal seizure. After all, what kind of business is this and how can it be “useful” for the state, when mine owners are reaping large profits, leaving us with poisonous tailing dumps with an obscure future.
The political team, which assumed responsibility for the future of the country after the [Velvet] Revolution, is trying to develop measures to curb the despoilment, which is taking place in the sphere and to balance the mine owners’ interests and those of the country and society, at the least. In this context, the Lydian company’s programme of the Amuslar [gold mine] is a kind of exam, which the state still has to take to society and investors.
At any rate, it should be said that what has been happening in the ore mining industry is absolutely unacceptable and this was repeatedly said even before the revolution. It was also said that if we got rid of the logic of corruption, there was no explanation for all this. Correspondingly, putting things to order in this sphere is by and large also necessary in terms of systemic corruption.
PM to choose between ‘lesser of two evils’
In his public speeches, Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan has presented a new approach in this direction: Zero litres of dirty water [poured] in the environment. For their part, environmentalists have raised the following question: How realistic is it to be using cyanide technologies, exploding rocks, [covering everything with] dust, and so forth, particularly in the case of Amuslar with its geographical location and possible interaction with the mineral water basin, rivers, and water reservoirs feeding Lake Sevan?
What will become of the tailing dumps created in different regions of Armenia, which are “correct on the books” and “safe”? What commitments do the companies, which are the authors of these tailing dumps, assume to rehabilitate these territories and within what timeframes? Does anyone intend to raise the issue? Except the animation clip presented by the Lydian company, which society has the right not to trust, no other company has said a single word about what will become of the tailing dumps created as a result of their activities and what will become of the territories, where raw materials are mined – in Zod, Syunik, Lori, and so forth?
In fact, Pashinyan has to choose between the lesser of the two evils. Therefore, he made a statement about the need in meeting the country’s balanced interest. On the one hand, it is obvious that had Lydian or some other company submitted a mining claim in Armenia today, they would unambiguously get a refusal. At least, we have reasons to think so based on the [list of] priorities for the country’s development, which have been repeatedly and publicly voiced and which does not include expansion of the industry. However, on the other hand, being a civilised country, Armenia has taken a number of international commitments regarding investments and investors, and the economic revolution and the ambitious objectives set for 2050 are not achievable without investments and investors.
Armenia, green activist to expand their capabilities
However, in the 21st century, one of the most important criteria for a civilised country is environmental culture, as well as the strictest observance of [international] standards, which the state is supposed to be a guarantor of. Correspondingly, yet another question remains open: Does the state have relevant institutional, inspective, and expert capabilities to “catch” the hypothetical “litre” leaking into the environment, as well as the hand, which pours this “litre” into the environment, keeping the state in the dark? I think that the state has to additionally convince society that it does have capabilities of the kind.
In this regard, the environmental movement has to carry out the most important mission in Armenia, encouraging the state to efficiently work in this direction. However, this is possible, provided the movement first and foremost holds back from the environmentally extremist philosophy, which is effectively destructive, halting progress and carrying a big risk of being turned into “useful idiots” within the frameworks of the interests of others. (We have European experience, when during the Cold War, Soviet special services channelled sincere concerns of a concrete segment of people into [a desirable direction].) And also, Armenian environmental activists need to increase their capabilities, so as to have concrete equipment at hand to help them to support their arguments with facts.
There is no doubt that in the long run, Armenia should be cleared of mines. Armenia should have enough money to buy all sorts of raw minerals for its industry, rather than sell crude minerals in order to just have money. Today’s Armenia already has something, but this is apparently insufficient. So far, our country has not reached this level. We have no Tesla or Silicon Valley of our own, where dozens of companies with multi-billion turnover would work. And the discussion, which was sparked in society, should speed up the country’s development, rather than poison the atmosphere and in moral terms, too. To this end, we need rules of the game. Is this possible? Armenian society has repeatedly proven that anything is possible.