Epress.am News from Armenia
In the milieu of Armenia’s continuous revolution, the issue of Amulsar is one of the most landmark conflicts. Its resolution will show the direction into which Armenia will develop. In essence, the new government needs to find solutions by which it will also inscribe what is important in the context of Armenia’s revolution’s values, states Anna Zhamakochyan, sociologist, in a discussion at Epress.am studio. Zhamakochyan speaks with environmentalists Arpineh Galfayan and Ani Khachatryan about the ongoing processes around Amulsar, the kind of practices used by Lydian Armenia LTD, the issues of the mining sector in general.
The speakers address the issue of colonialism and emphasize that mining companies treat those living in Armenia as a retarded and stupid mass who they are educating. Companies also state that mining is a leading industry in developed countries, such as Canada.
Arpineh Galfayan, however, states: “We, might even have a lot more information about the kind of a problem Canada’s mines have become in terms of global warming, that the world and peoples of Canada have turned against them.”
“In reality we need to have good specialists, we have a few in Armenia, but nobody listens to them. So far, we have had specialists who have been stating expert opinions both in the case of Teghut mine and for Amulsar, however their opinions were not interesting for anyone, because Lydian or other mining companies paid those who give favorable statements for them… They wrote favorable opinions, and there were people at the government who made nice abstracts out these, placed a stamp on them and approved these projects”, states Galfayan.
The video is in Armenian.