Whole Army of People Concerned about Risks of Amulsar Project and Their Own Safety

The movement against Amulsar gold mining project is gaining momentum. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Armenia, the Eurasian Development Bank and Lydian Armenia on the resumption of work at Amulsar on February 22 came as a shock to most people who are defending their right to live in a healthy environment, develop health tourism in Jermuk, use clean sources, and finally, protect their safety.

Reminder: Amulsar project bears unmanageable risks, having a cyanide site in its infrastructure, as well as a site where millions of tons of waste containing hazardous and toxic, including radioactive elements, will accumulate. The exploitation of the deposit will lead to one of the most dangerous phenomena for water resources - acid drainage, and finally, a threat to the existence of the Jermuk resort, as well as the Jermuk mineral water brand.

All these threats can become a reality not only for local residents, but also for the population of 4 more regions, given the vulnerability of the territory of the Amulsar project and its infrastructure, especially in case of aggressive actions by Azerbaijan.

A statement against Amulsar project was circulated on social media. Within 10 days, the statement was signed by 750 organizations and individuals, including activists, human rights activists, scientists, architects, teachers, doctors, programmers, musicians, political scientists, engineers, workers and drivers. A lot of people signed themselves as “resident of Jermuk”. At the same time, a petition against Amulsar project was reactivated on the Internet on Change.org platform. As of March 7th, over 30,000 people have signed the petition and the number is growing rapidly.