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QAJARAN VILLAGERS NOT PREPARING TO SURRENDER FOREFATHERS' LANDS - 'NO MATTER THE AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION OFFERED'
epress.am
12.20.2011
Regardless the amount of compensation, no one is preparing to give up
their forefathers' lands and tombs, said member of the "Save Trchkan
Waterfall" initiative Yeghia Nersisyan, speaking at a press conference
in Yerevan today on the plight of residents of the southern Armenian
village of Qajaran, where a recent government decision has meant
that over 180 hectares of land in Syunik marz ("province") is now
"priority public interest" land and thereby no longer belongs to
the city but to the state, who plans to sell it to a mining company,
notably the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine (Plant).
"Whilst meeting with us the villagers with great enthusiasm and extreme
vigor were resisting the marzpet, which they'd never done before. Yes,
all the same, the village residents will fight till the end - it's
just that they need our support. Qajaran must be preserved not only
for its cultural values, but also because the fact of being a border
village forces us to save it. The soldier standing on the border has
bravado when there's a village behind his back and this is the most
important," she said.
Recall, on Dec. 16 activists protested the government decision outside
the Armenian government building in Yerevan, during which time they
declared they would be visiting Qajaran (also spelled Kajaran) in
the coming days. Activists insist that mine exploitation will make
the village inhabitable, thereby displacing residents.
"In Qajaran, by coincidence we met [Syunik] marzpet [regional governor]
Suren Khachatryan, who initially greeted us with hostility.
He was accompanied by several cars - with the aim of creating
an atmosphere of fear. Poor man orients himself better in Armenia
Marriott Hotel [referring to an incident in which Khachatryan slapped
entrepreneur Silva Hambardzumyan] than in his own province where he's
been ruling for decades. The man bearing the noble name of Khachatryan
for a long time was unable to find the road to the village, which he
is so easily preparing to uproot," said member of the Sardarapat civic
movement Tigran Khzmalyan, who also mentioned the problems resulting
from mining, noting that research conducted by Ecolor indicates more
than the allowable amount of mercury and arsenic have been found in
the hair of the children residing in this village.
According to Khmazlyan, unlike with the marzpet and the Armenian
authorities, Qajaran mayor Rafik Atayan approaches the issue completely
differently.
"He's smarter than the president of our country and conscious of
more than the prime minister, the marzpets and their people who are
considered to be the political elite. The mayor says they, 100 people,
are keeping a thousand people, while they are offering 100 jobs -
but who's going to keep those 1,000 people? He also said that in
this state of war how can they empty the village and after all,
who is our soldier going to defend?" said Khzmalyan.
Nersisyan, in turn, said that the marzpet made several threats against
them. "Khachatryan threatened [environmental activist] Mariam Sukhudyan
that 'be careful, so suddenly something bad doesn't happen to you'
or that he was preparing to hit me with his fists..."
Nersisyan described the poor state of the village, emphasizing that
a long time has passed since a water pipe at the plant burst and the
entire village was flooded with water which soon froze. Furthermore,
she said, all of the villagers' appeals to the regional governing
office to deal with this accident have been ignored.
"This also proves that the regional governing office is doing
everything possible to tire the villagers and displace them," she said.
The speakers asserted that their impressions were more brutal than
they imagined before going to visit Qajaran.
"At the meeting with us, the employees of the Syunik regional
governing office told us that they can't do anything for land
considered 'priority, public interest' land. The villagers clearly
say that they're not preparing to surrender their lands. They charge
that no one considered their opinion when making this decision. The
aim of our organization is to make these people's voices heard by and
accessible to all. Soon we will present to the public four-hour long
new and serious videos; we will publish everything which was shot in
recent days in Syunik marz," said another speaker at today's press
conference, Ecolor Informational NGO representative Hermine Yenokyan.
epress.am
12.20.2011
Regardless the amount of compensation, no one is preparing to give up
their forefathers' lands and tombs, said member of the "Save Trchkan
Waterfall" initiative Yeghia Nersisyan, speaking at a press conference
in Yerevan today on the plight of residents of the southern Armenian
village of Qajaran, where a recent government decision has meant
that over 180 hectares of land in Syunik marz ("province") is now
"priority public interest" land and thereby no longer belongs to
the city but to the state, who plans to sell it to a mining company,
notably the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine (Plant).
"Whilst meeting with us the villagers with great enthusiasm and extreme
vigor were resisting the marzpet, which they'd never done before. Yes,
all the same, the village residents will fight till the end - it's
just that they need our support. Qajaran must be preserved not only
for its cultural values, but also because the fact of being a border
village forces us to save it. The soldier standing on the border has
bravado when there's a village behind his back and this is the most
important," she said.
Recall, on Dec. 16 activists protested the government decision outside
the Armenian government building in Yerevan, during which time they
declared they would be visiting Qajaran (also spelled Kajaran) in
the coming days. Activists insist that mine exploitation will make
the village inhabitable, thereby displacing residents.
"In Qajaran, by coincidence we met [Syunik] marzpet [regional governor]
Suren Khachatryan, who initially greeted us with hostility.
He was accompanied by several cars - with the aim of creating
an atmosphere of fear. Poor man orients himself better in Armenia
Marriott Hotel [referring to an incident in which Khachatryan slapped
entrepreneur Silva Hambardzumyan] than in his own province where he's
been ruling for decades. The man bearing the noble name of Khachatryan
for a long time was unable to find the road to the village, which he
is so easily preparing to uproot," said member of the Sardarapat civic
movement Tigran Khzmalyan, who also mentioned the problems resulting
from mining, noting that research conducted by Ecolor indicates more
than the allowable amount of mercury and arsenic have been found in
the hair of the children residing in this village.
According to Khmazlyan, unlike with the marzpet and the Armenian
authorities, Qajaran mayor Rafik Atayan approaches the issue completely
differently.
"He's smarter than the president of our country and conscious of
more than the prime minister, the marzpets and their people who are
considered to be the political elite. The mayor says they, 100 people,
are keeping a thousand people, while they are offering 100 jobs -
but who's going to keep those 1,000 people? He also said that in
this state of war how can they empty the village and after all,
who is our soldier going to defend?" said Khzmalyan.
Nersisyan, in turn, said that the marzpet made several threats against
them. "Khachatryan threatened [environmental activist] Mariam Sukhudyan
that 'be careful, so suddenly something bad doesn't happen to you'
or that he was preparing to hit me with his fists..."
Nersisyan described the poor state of the village, emphasizing that
a long time has passed since a water pipe at the plant burst and the
entire village was flooded with water which soon froze. Furthermore,
she said, all of the villagers' appeals to the regional governing
office to deal with this accident have been ignored.
"This also proves that the regional governing office is doing
everything possible to tire the villagers and displace them," she said.
The speakers asserted that their impressions were more brutal than
they imagined before going to visit Qajaran.
"At the meeting with us, the employees of the Syunik regional
governing office told us that they can't do anything for land
considered 'priority, public interest' land. The villagers clearly
say that they're not preparing to surrender their lands. They charge
that no one considered their opinion when making this decision. The
aim of our organization is to make these people's voices heard by and
accessible to all. Soon we will present to the public four-hour long
new and serious videos; we will publish everything which was shot in
recent days in Syunik marz," said another speaker at today's press
conference, Ecolor Informational NGO representative Hermine Yenokyan.