Armenian government ‘not unanimous’ on Amulsar mine project – opinion

The Armenian Government does not obviously share a unanimous position on Amulsar , the scenario threatening a deepening crisis in the country's political circles, Narine Dilbaryan, a deputy leader of the Heritage party, said Thursday, commenting on the ongoing debates over the controversial mine exploitation project.

“There are differences of positions in the government," she told Tert.am. "The crisis in governance, which Heritage has been repeatedly speaking of, is now becoming more evident.”

Emphasizing the urgency of a professional analysis, the politician said she thinks that studies need to focus "not only on Amulsar proper but also the mining sector on the whole". “Judging by the expert assessments, Amulsar seems to be even a couple of steps ahead - compared to those mine extraction technologies which are now being applied here. They [Lydian Armenia, the Anglo-American venture managing the project] bring modern technologies as it is. Perhaps, further clarifications and specifications are necessary to address the open mine extraction methods, etc., but this isn’t the kind of problem to be resolved [through staging] street [protests] and blocking roadways. It isn’t the right way to arrive at solutions.”

Dilbaryan said the Heritage party is now ready to initiate public hearings ‟on both the professional and political platforms″ to address the situation in Armenia's south-eastern gold mine. ‟We attach a great importance to the professional component,″ she said, stressing further the importance of inviting geologists, doctors and representatives of the academia to the debates.

Commenting on the expert conclusion by ELARD (Earth link & Advanced Resources Development), Dilbaryan called for developing a balanced attitude to the organization’s findings “to analyze its accentuations in detail.”

Asked to comment on the proposal for conducting a nationwide referendum, Dilbaryan said she doesn’t find it necessary at the current stage. “I believe that conducting a referendum without any developed professional opinion would be just a naivety or an attempt to avoid reaching an accurate solution,” she added.

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