Demanding To Annul Expert Assessment Opinion on Amulsar Project

Demanding To Annul Expert Assessment Opinion on Amulsar Project

Contradictory information is spread on social networks about the clashes between the employees of "Lydian Armenia" Company, the guards, as well as those of between residents opposing or supporting Amulsar project. The police intervened in the conflict, arresting only three residents who were against Amulsar project, accusing them of hooliganism.

This is not the first clash between supporters and opponents of Amulsar gold mining project, which bears acute social risks with unpredictable consequences. The reason is that the Amulsar issue, which has an exact legal solution but is artificially postponed, Environment Ministry, which is responsible for decision-making, in fact, refuses to reach this decision.

As a result, the problem is solved by law enforcement agencies. The demand of the locals and that of the society is to annul the environmental impact assessment expert opinion on Amulsar gold quartzite mining project issued in 2016. The Ministry and the government are provided with all the necessary substantiations, including RA Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, other RA laws, and violations of international conventions. But the ministers who took office during this period, Aramayis Grigoryan, Artsvik Minasyan, Erik Grigoryan, ignored the professional opinion presenting the risks and problems of Amulsar project.

None of the ministers took responsibility for answering any question raised by the society and by the government, which led to the loss of numerous human and financial resources, not only for the society, but also for the state.

Reminder: $ 450,000 was spent by ELARD only for independent expert assessmentwhereas the experts on the Balkan Wildlife Union, with EU funding, monitored the state of biodiversity in the Amulsar region and drafted a report.

The funds of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and International Finance Corporation, a part of World Bank Group, were spent on investigating two complaints from locals about the illegal financing of Amulsar project, as well as on the assignment of RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the specialists invited to the working group of RA Nature Protection and Mining Inspection Body evaluated Amulsar project carrying out a two-month expert work using personal resources.

We demand that newly-appointed Environment Minister Romanos Petrosyan take decisive actions and consider the situation within the frameworks of RA environmental legislation, in particular, within the frameworks of RA Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and Expertise and annul expert opinion BF 35 issued to Amulsar project on 28.04.2016.

September 24, 2020 at 18:34