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ECOLOGISTS PICKET BANK OVER ARMENIAN MINING PROJECT
Hasmik Smbatian
Armenialiberty.org
July 28 2010
About two dozen environmental activists clashed with police on
Wednesday as they picketed the Armenian branch of a Russian commercial
bank that plans to finance a controversial mining project in northern
Armenia.
The police used force against the protesters after they blocked
the entrance to the Yerevan head office of the VTB-Armenia bank
and refused to let anyone in or out of the building. One of the
protesters, Armenian Green Party leader Armen Dovlatian, was injured
in the scuffle.
The country's leading environment protection groups and other
non-governmental organizations have for years been campaigning against
plans by the Armenian Copper Program (ACP) mining company to develop a
massive copper and molybdenum deposit in the northern Lori region. The
Teghut deposit is estimated to contain 1.6 million tons of copper
and about 100,000 tons of molybdenum.
The project, if implemented, will lead to the destruction of 357
hectares of rich forest, including 128,000 trees. Critics say that
would wreak further havoc on Armenia's green areas that have already
shrunk dramatically since the 1990s.
ACP admits the heavy environmental cost of its plans but says it
will be more than offset by 1,400 new jobs which it has pledged to
create in the area. The Liechtenstein-registered company has also
pledged to build new schools and make other investments in the local
infrastructure.
The project was formally approved by the Armenian government in 2007.
The subsequent global economic crisis delayed its implementation,
with the Russian bank VTB delaying the release of a $300 million
loan promised to ACP. The company needs the loan to launch open-pit
operations at Teghut.
The protest outside VTB-Armenia followed reports that the Russian bank
will disburse the sum later this year. The protesters demanded that
the bank withhold funding for the "illegal project." Bank executives
refused to meet with them.
From: A. Papazian
Hasmik Smbatian
Armenialiberty.org
July 28 2010
About two dozen environmental activists clashed with police on
Wednesday as they picketed the Armenian branch of a Russian commercial
bank that plans to finance a controversial mining project in northern
Armenia.
The police used force against the protesters after they blocked
the entrance to the Yerevan head office of the VTB-Armenia bank
and refused to let anyone in or out of the building. One of the
protesters, Armenian Green Party leader Armen Dovlatian, was injured
in the scuffle.
The country's leading environment protection groups and other
non-governmental organizations have for years been campaigning against
plans by the Armenian Copper Program (ACP) mining company to develop a
massive copper and molybdenum deposit in the northern Lori region. The
Teghut deposit is estimated to contain 1.6 million tons of copper
and about 100,000 tons of molybdenum.
The project, if implemented, will lead to the destruction of 357
hectares of rich forest, including 128,000 trees. Critics say that
would wreak further havoc on Armenia's green areas that have already
shrunk dramatically since the 1990s.
ACP admits the heavy environmental cost of its plans but says it
will be more than offset by 1,400 new jobs which it has pledged to
create in the area. The Liechtenstein-registered company has also
pledged to build new schools and make other investments in the local
infrastructure.
The project was formally approved by the Armenian government in 2007.
The subsequent global economic crisis delayed its implementation,
with the Russian bank VTB delaying the release of a $300 million
loan promised to ACP. The company needs the loan to launch open-pit
operations at Teghut.
The protest outside VTB-Armenia followed reports that the Russian bank
will disburse the sum later this year. The protesters demanded that
the bank withhold funding for the "illegal project." Bank executives
refused to meet with them.
From: A. Papazian