EcoLur
184 residents of Geghanush village have sent a letter to Mr. Hratch Jabrayan, General Manager of “Dundee Precious Metals Kapan” CJSC, the copy to Hovik Abrahamyan, RA Prime Minister, Mr. Jeremy Cooper, the owner of “Dundee Precious Metals Kapan” CJSC, Director of “Vatrin Investment” LTD, England, Mr. Rick Howes, President and Chief Executive Director of “Dundee Precious Metals” Company, Canada, Management of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The letter says,
“Geghanush village
We, the undersigned residents of Geghanush village community of Syunik region, would like to declare that certain hazards threatening the environment and the people’s health have been created due to the reprocessing of the Geghanush tailing dump.
The gardens and vegetable gardens located at the riverbank of the Geghanush River are not cultivated, as the soil fertility has sharply decreased and further cultivation of the arable lands is not effective any more. Due to the abandonment of the gardens, the neglected arable lands are robbed and devastated; fruit trees are cut and have run wild, the fences are destroyed thus enhancing the damages caused to the land owners.
The reprocessing of the tailing dump resulted in the fact that in certain areas of the community such tree types like cherry and walnut trees either do not produce crops or just dry out. On the whole the soil fertility has decreased. The quick over flood of the tailing dump resulted in the increase of the hazard threatening the environment and the people’s health. The odor emanating from the tailing dump is unbearable, mainly in the mornings. Prior and after reprocessing of the tailing dump no study analyses were provided to the community residents on possible negative impacts on people’s health that the reprocessing of the tailing dump might have or could cause. It is obvious that as a result of the reprocessing of the tailing dump the soil quality has deteriorated, the fertility of arable lands, gardens and the birth rate of animals have decreased, trees dry out, the number of people’s and animals’ illnesses has increased, living in the village is becoming more and more dangerous…
Thus, the reprocessing of the Geghanush tailing dump endangers both our and our children’s health and lives; our incomes are decreasing. We continue suffering financial losses also due to the fact of factually being deprived of the opportunities to gain income.
Taking into account the fact that the reprocessing of the Geghanush tailing dump has been implemented by financing of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development we demand that the losses and the lost profits resulted from the reprocessing of the Geghanush tailing dump are compensated in accordance with international standards.”
December 28, 2015 at 14:18