Epress.am News from Armenia
The residents of the Molokan (a Christian sect of Russian ethnicity) village of Fioletovo in the Lori marz (province) are preparing to organize a protest against the exploitation of a gold mine near their village. The community residents have informed the Pan-Armenian Environmental Front in order to disperse the issue to the mass media.
According to the residents', the mine is only 300 meters away from the farthest house in village. Fioletovo village mayor Aleksey Novikov confirmed that the villagers are against the mine but he was not aware of the protest. According to Novikov, two town hall meetings have taken place in regards to the mine, the most recent one was held on December 16. The representatives of the company that is going to be operating the mine claim that the mine is harmless to the village’s ecosystem and that new jobs would be created for the villagers.
“During the two town hall meetings, the villagers were against the mine. The reasons are clear; the mine would be an open pit mine. The environmentalists explained that it is dangerous. The mine is found on the only road toward the animal pastures. Secondly, the open exploitation would make the village’s water sources muddy. The villagers are against it. There might be work, but only for a couple of years, while we are still going to live here,” said Alekseyi Novikov.