ArmInfo
Today a group of representatives of ecological and youth organizations gathered in front of the Armenian Parliament to protest against the start of the project to develop Tekhut copper-molybdenum deposit in Lori region of Armenia. Environment Protection Minister of Armenia Aram Haroutyunyan met with the protesters and said that the project of the Armenian Copper Programme (ACP) had undergone all necessary examinations, including ecological examination.
But the Ministry will continue controlling the company's activities in Tekhut so as to prevent any deviations from the project. ACP plans to cut down 150 h of unique Tekhut woods the coming 18 years. The protesters retorted that the public hearings of ACP's project were just a formality as none of the proposals by ecological organizations were included in it.
Particularly, the project to build a tailing dump for waste from ACP's rock crushing plant does not comply with the modern safety standards. The executive director of ACP Gagik Arzumanyan was also there. He said that they would not dump very poisonous waste and would use seismic technologies when building the tailing dump.
He parried most of the questions saying that they were "incompetent." He refuted the charges that his company's project was contrary to a number of international conventions and local laws. Independent expert, lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan said that ACP violated seven international conventions ratified by Armenia and the Constitution of the country.
Presently, ACP continues cutting down virgin woods and laying roads for its project. In fact, this is the start of a campaign to destroy Tekhut woods. This is not all: they are also changing the flow of rivers: particularly, Shnokh river. The tailing dump will cover an area of 200 h near the villages of Tekhut and Shnokh.
The protesters said that if the Ministry failed to satisfy their demands they would continue their action. To remind, it was exactly because of serious ecological problems that EBRD refused to finance ACP's project. Russian VTB is hesitant. The total cost of the project is $ 300mln.
April 30, 2008