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Greens Union Prez: "Akhtala could become a dead zone in five years if
Metals Prince continues in this manner"
Larisa Paremuzyan
13:41, May 16, 2013
Yesterday, Armenia's Greens Union President Hakob Sanasaryan led a
group of environmentalists on a visit to the town of Akhtala to
inspect the Shamlough open pit mine operated by Metals Prince Ltd.
They wanted to see for themselves the state of the company's tailings
dams, the production process and the working conditions for the mine
staff.
When they approached the mine, they were met by Armen Naghdalyan, who
manages the plant and a group of security staffers. Naghdalyan
demanded that the environmentalists immediately leave the site.
The group, in turn, demanded that Naghdalyan produce a document
proving that the land they were on indeed belonged to the mine.
Naghdalyan responded that the environmentalists should have stopped
off at the plant office first. He said that had they done so the
company would have provided an excort to take them anywhere they
wanted to go.
Sanasaryan told Hetq that he had gotten in touch with Metals Prince
Director Madeline Tashjian prior to the trip and that Tashjian had
told him to wait after the May 9 holidays.
`Afterwards, she changed her story and asked for a meeting. She wanted
to know the purpose of our visit and based on what right did we plan
to visit Akhtala. She should think before making such ridiculous
demands,' said Sanasaryan.
Throughout their visit, company security staff followed the
environmentalists by jeep and hindered their movements. Sanasaryan
labelled these attempts as a human rights violation and noted that had
it been in another country the mining company would be fined for such
behaviour.
Sanasaryan said that the Shamlough mine appears on a map of uranium
mines in Armenia.
`I'm not saying that there's an uranium mine there, but it appears on
the map. He said that the purpose of his visit was to find out if
there were any uranium traces in the area.
The Green Union president expressed his concerns over the continuing
pollution of the Akhtala River with tailings wastes and noted the
dangers that the Tchotchkan tailings dam present to the nearby
communities of Metz Ayroum and Tchotchkan.
Commenting on the overall environmental situation in Akhtala,
Sanasaryan said that while it couldn't be compared to that of Kapan
and Syunik, which he described as `dead zones', if Metal Prince
continues to operate in the same manner Akhtala could also become a
dead zone in five years.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/26538/greens-union-prez-akhtala-could-become-a-dead-zone-in-five-years-if-metals-prince-continues-in-this-manner.html
From: Baghdasarian
Metals Prince continues in this manner"
Larisa Paremuzyan
13:41, May 16, 2013
Yesterday, Armenia's Greens Union President Hakob Sanasaryan led a
group of environmentalists on a visit to the town of Akhtala to
inspect the Shamlough open pit mine operated by Metals Prince Ltd.
They wanted to see for themselves the state of the company's tailings
dams, the production process and the working conditions for the mine
staff.
When they approached the mine, they were met by Armen Naghdalyan, who
manages the plant and a group of security staffers. Naghdalyan
demanded that the environmentalists immediately leave the site.
The group, in turn, demanded that Naghdalyan produce a document
proving that the land they were on indeed belonged to the mine.
Naghdalyan responded that the environmentalists should have stopped
off at the plant office first. He said that had they done so the
company would have provided an excort to take them anywhere they
wanted to go.
Sanasaryan told Hetq that he had gotten in touch with Metals Prince
Director Madeline Tashjian prior to the trip and that Tashjian had
told him to wait after the May 9 holidays.
`Afterwards, she changed her story and asked for a meeting. She wanted
to know the purpose of our visit and based on what right did we plan
to visit Akhtala. She should think before making such ridiculous
demands,' said Sanasaryan.
Throughout their visit, company security staff followed the
environmentalists by jeep and hindered their movements. Sanasaryan
labelled these attempts as a human rights violation and noted that had
it been in another country the mining company would be fined for such
behaviour.
Sanasaryan said that the Shamlough mine appears on a map of uranium
mines in Armenia.
`I'm not saying that there's an uranium mine there, but it appears on
the map. He said that the purpose of his visit was to find out if
there were any uranium traces in the area.
The Green Union president expressed his concerns over the continuing
pollution of the Akhtala River with tailings wastes and noted the
dangers that the Tchotchkan tailings dam present to the nearby
communities of Metz Ayroum and Tchotchkan.
Commenting on the overall environmental situation in Akhtala,
Sanasaryan said that while it couldn't be compared to that of Kapan
and Syunik, which he described as `dead zones', if Metal Prince
continues to operate in the same manner Akhtala could also become a
dead zone in five years.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/26538/greens-union-prez-akhtala-could-become-a-dead-zone-in-five-years-if-metals-prince-continues-in-this-manner.html
From: Baghdasarian