Friday, September 20 2019 12:51

ArmInfo. Residents of the city of Jermuk and the village of Gndevaz from the early morning of September 20 have been holding protests against the exploitation of  the Amulsar gold mine. Opponents of mine exploitation have been  declared strikes in schools in the region, and it is planned to  organize protests in Yerevan.

Note that the defenders of Amulsar declared September 20 as the day  of environmental mobilization and justice.

The strike participants chant: , , . Citizens believe  that the Prime Minister of Armenia is provided with incorrect  information on the Amulsar project, saying that first of all  Pashinyan should resign Minister of the Environment Eric Grigoryan.

The strikers also say they will continue to block roads until a  decision is made in favor of abandoning the construction and  operation of the mine.

Dozens of students from the Gndevaz school joined the action, but the  school principal threatened that they would expel them if they did  not return to school. Then the students went to the school building,  shouting so that teachers would join the strikes. Protesting  schoolchildren say that they can make up for the missed lessons, and  they will not be able to restore their health, which could be harmed  due to the operation of the mine.

Note that today it is planned to carry out a number of measures  against the operation of the mine, in particular, bike ride, bike  ride, flash mobs. At 13:30 environmentalists, experts,  representatives of civil society will begin an action in Yerevan from  Mashtots Square. At 18:30, all groups participating in the day of  environmental mobilization will gather near the Opera House at the  monument to Aram Khachaturian.  Recall, on August 28, Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan held a video conference with representatives of ELARD  with the participation of representatives of Lydian Armenia,  following which he announced the identification of new circumstances  requiring study and evaluation.

ELARD expert Ricardo Jury said the need for a new study based on  updated data, pointing out the incompleteness of the mitigation  measures proposed by Lydian and the need to review the environmental  impact assessment.

Amulsar gold mine is located 10 kilometers in a straight line from  the Jermuk balneological resort. After Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  actually gave a preliminary "green light" to the program on August  19, saying that Amulsar, judging by the data of international  experts, does not harm Sevan and the environment, and the Armenian  government will constantly monitor during the development of the  field , residents of the surrounding areas and Jermuk assured that  they would take part in unlimited protests, but would not allow the  mine to continue to operate.

Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International. The  total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370 million. The field's life  will be 10 years and 4 months, with an average of 200 thousand ounces  of gold being mined annually. Amulsar field is the second largest  reserves in Armenia.