ArmInfo. MPs of the National Assembly of Armenia Naira Zohrabyan, Ani Samsonyan and Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Vahe Enfiajyan met with activists protesting against the exploitation of the Amulsar Mine.
As ArmInfo previously reported, activists tried to enter the courtyard of the Armenian parliament and hold a meeting there, but they were not given such an opportunity, after which they tried to block traffic in front of the National Assembly of Armenia. However, after short negotiations with the protesters, the police, using force, began to force the protesters out of the roadway. After some time, traffic was restored. Police detained 6 protesters.
Ani Samsonyan, a member of the Bright Armenia faction, said she would stay with the protesters so that the police could not use force against peaceful demonstrators. The MP also stated that the exploitation of Amulsar Mine should not be allowed.
In turn, head of the parliamentary commission on human rights, MP from the Prosperous Armenia faction Naira Zagrabyan noted that the MPs came to support the people. "The power in the country belongs to the people. The people have clearly expressed their position, and as long as our citizens oppose, the Amulsar Mine should not be exploited," Zohrabyan concluded.
It should be noted that MP of the National Assembly from the Prosperous Armenia party Sergey Bagratyan, also visited the protest action, he noted that he came to the rally to support the people. According to him, the program put forward by Lydian Armenia is inferior, because it does not guarantee the safety of the Arpa, Darb and Vorotan rivers. "If these problems are not resolved, then what kind of development can be discussed? Only this is enough to prevent the Mind from being exploited," the MP asked. To recall, activists and environmentalists were unsatisfied with the results of their meeting with the Prime Minister. As activist Ani Khachatryan noted, the struggle for Amulsar will continue. There was also a slight brawl between a police officer and one of the activists; however, the situation is currently relatively calm. A protest rally in front of the residence of the President of Armenia continues.
It should be noted that after a meeting with environmentalists, activists and residents of the city of Jermuk, who oppose the exploitation of the Amulsar Gold Mine, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan convened a private meeting with the MPs of the My Step faction. The meeting takes place in the office of the Civil Contract party.
To recall, on August 14, the Investigative Committee of Armenia submitted an expert opinion on the Amulsar project of the Lebanese consulting company Earthlink & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD). As the head of the Committee Hayk Grigoryan stated at a government meeting on August 15, 3 important conclusions can be made on the basis of the expert opinion. First of all, as Grigoryan noted, this refers to the fact that there is no direct connection between the underground waters located on the territory of the Amulsar project and the thermal hot springs of Jermuk. There is also no connection with the waters of the Sevan basin. "At the same time, during an earthquake, a certain concentration of acid drainage can penetrate into the basin of Lake Sevan through the reservoirs of Spandaryan and Ketchut. However, the combination of this concentration will be insignificant on the scale of Lake Sevan," the head of the investigating body said. The third important conclusion that can be drawn based on the expert's conclusion is that the possible impact of groundwater from the Amulsar field on the Arpa, Debet and Darb rivers can be mitigated if Lydian Armenia takes 16 environmental mitigation measures proposed by experts. As Grigoryan pointed out, representatives of Lydian Armenia have already expressed their readiness to implement 15 of the proposed 16 events: they are already carrying out 10 events, and they will be ready to conduct another 5 measures in the near future. The head of the Committee noted that at present there are grounds for terminating the criminal case instituted under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (Concealment or willful misrepresentation of information on environmental pollution.