ArmInfo. The Armenian Intelligentsia Council addressed the government with an open letter expressing its concern over the declaration of the mining industry as a priority for the Armenian economy.
The Council's statement stresses that it is simply impossible to combine three priority areas of the economy - mining, tourism and agriculture - on a small territory of Armenia (about 29.7 thousand sq km). "The constantly increasing number of metal mines, as well as tailing dumps polluting the environment, is an obstacle to the development of tourism and agriculture," the statement said.
In this regard, the Council appealed to the National Assembly and the government not to give new permits for exploitation of mines, to take measures to restore damage to the environment, to study the social and health conditions of the population of the areas where these deposits are exploited (Lori and Syunik) and provide residents given communities the necessary assistance, bring to account private entrepreneurs, whose activities have harmed the nature and health of local residents.
Professor Azat Yeghiazaryan, ecologist Karine Danielyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Arman Navasardyan, sculptor Ferdinant Arakelyan, Candidate of Chemistry Roland Avetisyan, author of the Heliophasification Program of Armenia Vahan Amazaspyan, political scientist Armen Hovsepyan, chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia Aram Sargsyan signed the statement.
About 400 deposits are in operation in Armenia, 23 of them are metal ones with 22 tailing dumps. Meanwhile, the output of the sphere is only 2.5-2.9% of Armenia's GDP.