Pan-Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF) has preferred the meeting with the prime minister to radical steps for environmental protection, activist Yeghia Nersisyan told reporters, Thursday.
He recalled the recent attempt of the green activists to break the international conference "Establishment of Responsible Mining Industry in Armenia: Opportunities and Challenges" in Yerevan on 25 March. Then the activists offered a glass of river water to Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan. Nersisyan does not think it was aggressive behavior, as many villagers are reluctant to irrigate their agricultural lands with the given polluted water and even give it to the cattle.
PAEF plans to take radical steps to protect the environment, as the numerous efforts of activists to draw the attention of officials to the disastrous situation in Syunik have brought no result. The activist said that over 10 polymetalic deposits are developed in the given region and there are over 10 tailing dumps. The waste of the Ler-Ex enrichment plant polluted the River of Geghi. Nersisyan thinks the prime minister's proposal to meet with the activist is nothing but a show. "It they brought the leadership of Ler-Ex Company responsible, we could meet with the prime minister," he said. To recall, on March 25 Head of the Government Staff - Minister Vache Gabrielyan offered the activists to meet with the prime minister after they tried to break the international conference "Establishment of Responsible Mining Industry in Armenia: Opportunities and Challenges." They chanted "Shame!" "Away from Armenia!" protesting against environment pollution. It was reported later on 27 March, that the activists and the prime minister would meet on 28 March at 4:00pm.
Nersisyan said that neither PAEF nor the Teghout Protection Group are going to meet with the prime minister, as their alarms of the environmental damage caused by the mining industry have been ignored for several years already.
Head of the Union of the Greens of Armenia Hakob Sanasaryan, in turn, said he would meet with the prime minister only in the presence of journalists, at least 10 activists, economy minister and representatives of the relevant international organizations.