ArmInfo. Residents of the city of Jermuk and the village of Gndevaz from the early morning of September 20 have been holding protests against the exploitation of the Amulsar gold mine. Opponents of mine exploitation have been declared strikes in schools in the region, and it is planned to organize protests in Yerevan.
Note that the defenders of Amulsar declared September 20 as the day of environmental mobilization and justice.
The strike participants chant: , , . Citizens believe that the Prime Minister of Armenia is provided with incorrect information on the Amulsar project, saying that first of all Pashinyan should resign Minister of the Environment Eric Grigoryan.
The strikers also say they will continue to block roads until a decision is made in favor of abandoning the construction and operation of the mine.
Dozens of students from the Gndevaz school joined the action, but the school principal threatened that they would expel them if they did not return to school. Then the students went to the school building, shouting so that teachers would join the strikes. Protesting schoolchildren say that they can make up for the missed lessons, and they will not be able to restore their health, which could be harmed due to the operation of the mine.
Note that today it is planned to carry out a number of measures against the operation of the mine, in particular, bike ride, bike ride, flash mobs. At 13:30 environmentalists, experts, representatives of civil society will begin an action in Yerevan from Mashtots Square. At 18:30, all groups participating in the day of environmental mobilization will gather near the Opera House at the monument to Aram Khachaturian. Recall, on August 28, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a video conference with representatives of ELARD with the participation of representatives of Lydian Armenia, following which he announced the identification of new circumstances requiring study and evaluation.
ELARD expert Ricardo Jury said the need for a new study based on updated data, pointing out the incompleteness of the mitigation measures proposed by Lydian and the need to review the environmental impact assessment.
Amulsar gold mine is located 10 kilometers in a straight line from the Jermuk balneological resort. After Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan actually gave a preliminary "green light" to the program on August 19, saying that Amulsar, judging by the data of international experts, does not harm Sevan and the environment, and the Armenian government will constantly monitor during the development of the field , residents of the surrounding areas and Jermuk assured that they would take part in unlimited protests, but would not allow the mine to continue to operate.
Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International. The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370 million. The field's life will be 10 years and 4 months, with an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold being mined annually. Amulsar field is the second largest reserves in Armenia.