HERITAGE LEADER SLAMS VIOLATIONS IN ARMENIA'S MINING INDUSTRY
December 25, 2012 - 13:43 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian has issued
a statement slamming the violations in mining industry in Armenia.
"By now it is clear that the rise of big mining in Armenia has been
not a project of the national interest but a privilege of the chosen
few, who have amassed fantastic fortunes while our country descends
into poverty and despair.
In recent years we have witnessed grave violations under the guise
of eminent domain, the destruction of historical monuments, and the
obliteration of vast, prospering ecosystems. In place of lush forests,
lakes of hazardous toxic waste cover Armenia. Our homeland is being
poisoned," the statement reads.
"The time for change has come. Today we must stand together to demand:
1) the reevaluation of all mining licenses in Armenia-including the
license issued to the open mine at Teghut, the great forest of the Lori
region; 2) the suspension of all pending licenses, in anticipation of
a comprehensive and multi-faceted parliamentary investigation into
the legality and transparency of the licensing process; and 3) the
redrafting of the environmental code and the tax code to ensure that,
in the future, national resources are extracted only with due regard
for the environment and to the benefit of the entire Armenian people.
We the people wholeheartedly support Armenia's economic development,
but that will happen in earnest only when rights rule, the environment
commands respect, and the rank-and-file citizen rises to become master
of his homeland," the statement further says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
December 25, 2012 - 13:43 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian has issued
a statement slamming the violations in mining industry in Armenia.
"By now it is clear that the rise of big mining in Armenia has been
not a project of the national interest but a privilege of the chosen
few, who have amassed fantastic fortunes while our country descends
into poverty and despair.
In recent years we have witnessed grave violations under the guise
of eminent domain, the destruction of historical monuments, and the
obliteration of vast, prospering ecosystems. In place of lush forests,
lakes of hazardous toxic waste cover Armenia. Our homeland is being
poisoned," the statement reads.
"The time for change has come. Today we must stand together to demand:
1) the reevaluation of all mining licenses in Armenia-including the
license issued to the open mine at Teghut, the great forest of the Lori
region; 2) the suspension of all pending licenses, in anticipation of
a comprehensive and multi-faceted parliamentary investigation into
the legality and transparency of the licensing process; and 3) the
redrafting of the environmental code and the tax code to ensure that,
in the future, national resources are extracted only with due regard
for the environment and to the benefit of the entire Armenian people.
We the people wholeheartedly support Armenia's economic development,
but that will happen in earnest only when rights rule, the environment
commands respect, and the rank-and-file citizen rises to become master
of his homeland," the statement further says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress