MP Tunyan says obstructing works for operation of Amulsar mine without legal ground is unacceptable

Chairman of the Armenian parliamentary standing committee on economic affairs Babken Tunyan doesn’t see a legal ground at the moment for obstructing the works for the operation of Amulsar gold mine.

“At the moment the decision is the following: people should not obstruct the construction works of the mine, and this is normal. From the very start I was in favor of this position and state that if there was a need for that mine to be closed, legal grounds should have existed for that. But now I heard the PM’s speech that at the moment there are no legal grounds. If there are additional grounds within a year which will allow to close the mine, it will already mean that time that certain actions are necessary”, he said, adding that if the company’s operation is suspended without any legal ground, that is unacceptable, and this action will make Armenia very suspicious as a partner.

According to the lawmaker, the road leading to the mine should open so that the company will be able to carry out the construction works.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today was live on Facebook during which he asked the residents of Jermuk town to open access to the Amulsar mine. He added that even if the roads leading to the mine are opened now, the construction works will not start until April 2020.a