Karajan Mayor Appeals to Armenian President to Save Village

Karajan mayor Rafik Atayan today issued a letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in which he asks the latter to intervene and annul a government decision on Apr. 28, 2011, which determined six villages in the southern Armenian province (marz) of Syunik (including Kajaran) to be on “public priority interest” land and therefore belong to the state, which later transferred the land to the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine (Plant) to begin open-pit mining operations.

The mayor of the southern Armenian village points out that the government didn’t consult with residents in the area and didn’t include them in the decision-making process. Also, the public is unaware whether the land has been studied and the impact of mining on residents’ health and the surrounding environment assessed.

Furthermore, “the basis of the government’s decision clearly don’t correspond to the provisions of Armenia’s Constitution, as well as to the RA Law on Alienation of Property for Public and State Needs, which, I believe, should be of great concern to you.

“The Constitution and the aforementioned law allows us to state there can be and is one priority public, national and state interest in the village of Kajaran — that is the security of the existence of the border village of Karajan,” Atayan writes.

The village mayor concludes his plea to the state leader to annul the government’s Apr. 28, 2011 decision by mentioning what might happen if he ignores this request:

“If once again you do not take specific action and remain silent, as you did when 600 Qajaran residents appealed to you in May 2011, then it will finally mean that you support the appalling plan by the owners of the Kajaran [i.e. Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum] Combine to eradicate our border village, for which the village population will be filled with the greatest regret and the incertitude that began after Apr. 28, 2011, will continue to grow in the village.”

Recall, activists insist that mining will displace residents and this is also an issue of national security.