WIVES OF CURRENT AND PREVIOUS RA PRESIDENTS JOIN SIGNATURE COLLECTION AGAINST TEGHUT MINE OPERATION

NOYAN TAPAN
JUNE 4, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, NOYAN TAPAN. Zaruhi Postanjian, a member of the RA NA
Zharangutiun (Heritage) faction and of Armenian delegation in PACE,
is going to raise the issue of environmental disaster threatening
the territory in case of Teghut mine operation at the PACE June
session. The deputy stated it at the June 3 press conference.

On June 5, the International Day of Environmental Protection, the Group
of Teghut Protection is organizing a procession dedicated to problems
of Teghut, Sevan, uranium ores, Sevan’s environmental problems. It
was mentioned that the Group of Teghut Protection has organized a
signature collection, and nearly 5000 people have joined it in the
past 10 days. The wives of the current and previous RA Presidents, Rita
Sargsyan and Bela Kocharian have also joined the signature collection.

Government’s decision on Teghut operation was made in 2007, when
the current President was the RA Prime Minister. The right of
mine operation was given to the Vallex group of enterprises for 25
years. It it envisaged to create 1500 jobs by the agreement. The
government has allotted an area of 2000 hectares for mine operation,
75% of which are forests. The agreement envisages that 357 hectares
of the mentioned territory should be deforested.

Environmentalists consider that Teghut mine operation will result
in an environmental disaster, in particular, the environment will
be polluted, diseases will spread among population in the vicinity,
as well as flora and fauna will be damaged, some species of which
are registered in the Red Book. Environmentalists demand that the
company operating the mine assess mine operation’s influence on the
environment for not 8 but 25 years, with involvement of society and
international experts, as well as perfection of the environmental
legislation. According to environmentalists, against government’s
assurances, no step has been taken in this direction.

Vahram Avagian, a representative of the Vallex group of enterprises
operating the mine, refuted environmentalists’ assertions in his
interview to journalists. According to him, the organization
has presented an assession of influence on environment for 25
years, and all statements on violations of legislative norms are
abstract. "We have never affirmed that we will entirely neutralize the
environmental harm. However, our working program envisages to reduce
to minimum a possible environmental damage," he said. In particular,
a program compensating deforestation will be implemented envisaging
planting forests in a territory two-fold larger than the deforested
one. According to the company representative, the average annual
deforestation volume will not exceed 10 hectares.

V. Avagian does not accept, either, environmentalists’ assertion on
water pollution. According to him, the most economizing technology
from environmental point of view has been chosen, a closed circulation
system of industrial waters excluding industrial waters’ outflow.