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DOCUMENT 'METSAMOR NPP - CONSTANT THREAT FOR SOUTH CAUCASUS AND EUROPE' CIRCULATED IN PACE
Trend
June 28 2012
Azerbaijan
The draft resolution "Metsamor nuclear power plant is a constant
threat for the South Caucasus and Europe", prepared by a member of
Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE), Ganira Pashayeva, will be discussed at the Bureau
and in other structures of the Council of Europe.
The draft resolution has been signed by MPs of different countries,
and an official document, which will be discussed at the PACE Bureau,
is distributed during the structure's session. Under the procedural
rules, the document must be signed by 20 MPs from the five member
countries. Further, the document shall be discussed at the PACE Bureau,
and then relevant decisions shall be made. The mentioned project was
signed by some 25 European deputies.
"The Metsamor NPP located in Armenia is one of the biggest threats to
the South Caucasus and the European region. An issue on an immediate
cessation of activity of the Metsamor NPP located in a seismically
active zone has been repeatedly raised at the Parliamentary Assembly.
If severe accident happens at the NPP, the Azerbaijani authorities
will have less than a day for evacuation of population from the
danger zone. Such an accident may destroy all life in most parts of
the South Caucasus. Last year, Armenia has once again rejected the EU
proposal to close the Metsamor nuclear power plant in exchange for
the allocation of $ 100 million to cover its energy needs. Yerevan
reopened in 1995the NPP built in 1974," the draft resolution reads.
The draft resolution stresses that Metsamor NPP, which is located at a
distance of 16 kilometers from Turkey, 60 kilometers from Iran and 120
kilometers from the border of Georgia and Azerbaijan, poses a threat
not only to Azerbaijan but also to other countries in the region.
The document contains several recommendations over Metsamor NPP.
"Given the importance of maintaining security in the region and
Europe, the Assembly recommends the following: - to appoint a
special rapporteur to carry out an urgent and full investigation
of the matter; - to form a group of parliamentarians who have the
appropriate specialty to study the issue; -to urgently the basis for
dialogue with the participation of renowned experts of the Committees
on Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs and the
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights," the document says.
Metsamor NPP was built in 1970. After the devastating earthquake in
Spitak in 1988 it was closed, but in 1995, despite international
protests, the activities of the station were resumed, moreover,
the second reactor was launched.
Given the large number of minor earthquakes in the past 10 years in
this area, as well as the intensification of seismic processes, as
indicated by research of seismologists, in the event of a serious
accident at the Metsamor NPP not only Armenia, but also all the
countries of South Caucasus and the Middle East will seriously suffer.
From: A. Papazian
Trend
June 28 2012
Azerbaijan
The draft resolution "Metsamor nuclear power plant is a constant
threat for the South Caucasus and Europe", prepared by a member of
Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE), Ganira Pashayeva, will be discussed at the Bureau
and in other structures of the Council of Europe.
The draft resolution has been signed by MPs of different countries,
and an official document, which will be discussed at the PACE Bureau,
is distributed during the structure's session. Under the procedural
rules, the document must be signed by 20 MPs from the five member
countries. Further, the document shall be discussed at the PACE Bureau,
and then relevant decisions shall be made. The mentioned project was
signed by some 25 European deputies.
"The Metsamor NPP located in Armenia is one of the biggest threats to
the South Caucasus and the European region. An issue on an immediate
cessation of activity of the Metsamor NPP located in a seismically
active zone has been repeatedly raised at the Parliamentary Assembly.
If severe accident happens at the NPP, the Azerbaijani authorities
will have less than a day for evacuation of population from the
danger zone. Such an accident may destroy all life in most parts of
the South Caucasus. Last year, Armenia has once again rejected the EU
proposal to close the Metsamor nuclear power plant in exchange for
the allocation of $ 100 million to cover its energy needs. Yerevan
reopened in 1995the NPP built in 1974," the draft resolution reads.
The draft resolution stresses that Metsamor NPP, which is located at a
distance of 16 kilometers from Turkey, 60 kilometers from Iran and 120
kilometers from the border of Georgia and Azerbaijan, poses a threat
not only to Azerbaijan but also to other countries in the region.
The document contains several recommendations over Metsamor NPP.
"Given the importance of maintaining security in the region and
Europe, the Assembly recommends the following: - to appoint a
special rapporteur to carry out an urgent and full investigation
of the matter; - to form a group of parliamentarians who have the
appropriate specialty to study the issue; -to urgently the basis for
dialogue with the participation of renowned experts of the Committees
on Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs and the
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights," the document says.
Metsamor NPP was built in 1970. After the devastating earthquake in
Spitak in 1988 it was closed, but in 1995, despite international
protests, the activities of the station were resumed, moreover,
the second reactor was launched.
Given the large number of minor earthquakes in the past 10 years in
this area, as well as the intensification of seismic processes, as
indicated by research of seismologists, in the event of a serious
accident at the Metsamor NPP not only Armenia, but also all the
countries of South Caucasus and the Middle East will seriously suffer.
From: A. Papazian