"Stop killing" - environmental rally in Yerevan

There will be environmental rally in Yerevan, 30 April, 4pm, in front of the Armenian parliament.

 

"Stop killing" - this will be the main message of the rally. Along with general environmental concerns, "Armenia-Russia uranium deal" and "Save Teghut" will be the key target themes of the rally.

"Silence is a sign of agreement"

"Stop killing environment"

"Stop killing us"

"Cult of radiation"

*banners via Bnamard environmental blog

 

For background of the key issues to be targeted during the rally, see below relevant RFE/RL report.

 

Armenia-Russia uranium deal

22 April 2008, RFE/RL reports:

The Armenian and Russian governments set up on Tuesday a joint venture that will explore and possibly develop Armenia’s untapped uranium reserves concentrated in the southeastern Syunik region.
“The new joint venture will explore and ascertain our uranium reserves,” Armenian Environment Minister Aram Harutiunian said after signing a relevant agreement in Yerevan with Russia’s state-owned Atomredmetzoloto company, which mines and processes uranium.
In accordance that agreement, the Russian firm will have a 50 percent stake in the venture and invest about $3 million in exploratory work to be conducted in Syunik during the first year of operations. The mountainous region bordering Iran was explored by Soviet geologists in the 1950-1907s and is estimated to contain 30,000 metric tons of uranium ore. [...]
 

Save Teghut

5 October 2007, RFE/RL reports:

Minister for Trade and Economic Development Nerses Yeritsian [Unzipped: currently - Minister of Economy] voiced support on Friday for a multimillion-dollar mining project that, if implemented, will lead to the destruction of a rich forest in northern Armenia and is strongly opposed by environmentalists.
The Armenian Copper Program (ACP), the country’s second largest mining company, plans to invest $270 million in turning the Teghut forest rich in copper and molybdenum ores into a big mine in the next five years. The Liechtenstein-registered company is already making preparations for the start of open-pit operations in the 357-hectare area covered by some 128,000 trees. [...]
Yeritsian echoed ACP executives’ arguments that the planned development of the deposit will result in 1,400 new jobs. The private company has also pledged to build new schools and make other investments in the local infrastructure.
Environment protection groups insist that all of this would be trumped by the heavy ecological cost of the project. They say it would accelerate Armenia’s deforestation which began in the early 1990s and is increasingly threatening the national ecosystem.
Armenia’s mining and metallurgy sectors, dominated by foreign investors, have expanded rapidly in recent years on the back of soaring international prices for copper and molybdenum. Non-ferrous metals are currently the country’s number one export.