Teghout

On 30 September 2009 Zaruhi Bostanjanyan, the member of the Armenian Delegation to PACE and the representative of “Heritage” faction in the National Assembly, spoke for the human right to health environment and put the legitimacy of Teghout deposit exploitation under question. In reply Vallex Company Group, the owner of the license on Teghout copper molybdenum deposit development, came forward with a disclaimer of the deputy’s speech.

Heritage Party Deputy Zaruhi Postanjyan, the member of the Armenian Delegation to PACE spoke at PACE session on the issue of Teghout deposit exploitation. She stated that the license on the deposit exploitation was issued with violation of RA Constitution provisions and Teghout exploitation poses great danger to environment…

RA Cassation Court ruled that appeal submitted by “Transparency International Anticorruption Center” and “EcoDar” NGOs against RA Administrative Court ruling “On Dismissing Claim” dated on 28.07.2009 is to be accepted to proceedings.

According to Aram Harutyunyan, the Minister of Nature Protection RA, forest cut works have started in Teghout.

Two out of three main principles of the Aarhus Convention are not met in Armenia, i.e. public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. This says the letter addressed by 3 NGOs, “Transparency International – Anticorruption Center”, “EcoDar” and the Helsinki Civil Assembly Office in Vanadzor to the Secretariat of the Aarhus Convention on 15 September 2009.

Civil works will be carried out in the land area of 357 ha for Teghout mine exploitation. In this regard a vast number of trees will be cut, and the chapel, a historical-cultural monument situated on the site of the mine, will be replaced to another place.

Teghout defence group has not received a reply from the Court of Cassation yet, which Teghout defense group appealed challenging the decisions of the Administrative Court.

In the Town Hall Conference Hall the Aarhus Center in Alaverdi held an informational meeting on the topic “Teghout and We” for the members of the youth in the region of Alaverdi and Tumanyan on 25 July.

As “Transparency International” Anticorruption Center informed “EcoLur”, NGOs appealed the dismissal of the Teghout suit by RA Administrative Court in RA.

On his birthday, June 30, President Serzh Sargsyan received about 5,000 letters from individuals in Armenia demanding to halt the mining operations in the Teghut deposit. Copies of the protest letters were also sent to RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and National Assembly Chairman Hovik Abrahamyan.

Heritage Party Deputy Zaruhi Postanjyan regrets that she wasn’t able to broach the environmental issues of Lake Sevan and the Teghut Forest at the recent PACE June session.

CLAIM ON TEGHOUT BROUGHT TO COURTOn 6 June the group of supporters for Teghout brought an action to Administrative Court in Yerevan aimed at banning the exploitation of Teghout deposit.

RA President Serzh Sargsyan received an appeal from the environmentalists to ban Teghout project on exploitation copper-molybdenum deposit instead of birthday congratulations.

NGOs in Lori Marz accused activists of SOS Teghout campaign of extremes. Several NGOs in Lori disseminated a statement which expresses their amazement in regard to Teghout campaign supporters, particularly signature-gathering campaign.

…without scientific basis, based solely on emotional extremist statements, you can discredit the very idea of nature protection…

When Armenia became independent, its leadership and the rich people started to visit its neighboring countries and became sure that the desert is not so terrible, as the foreign propaganda tried to make it.

Armenia’s former and current first ladies made environmentalists happy by effectively joining their longstanding campaign against a major industry project that conservationists say has a damaging environmental effect. Only several days later they realized they had put their signatures to a document they did not quite understand the essence of.

The accompanying picture shows just a few of the top Armenian government official that participated in yesterday’s march in downtown Yerevan to mark World Environment Day.