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Article

12 Nov 2010

Author:
Freelance journalist Marianna Grigoryan, in EurasiaNet

Armenia: An environmental debate with nuclear implications flares

Environmentalists in Armenia are opposing a uranium mine project… Carrying photos of animals and children, mutilated by exposure to uranium...3,000 protestors gathered… in the central square of the town of Kapan…calling for the suspension of the mine project…The mine project near Kapan…has been the target of protests for the past two years…[T]he mine [is] owned by an Armenian-Russian Mining Company…A group of non-governmental organizations…sent a letter to President Serzh Sargsyan calling for the project’s suspension on health and environmental grounds…Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisian contends that protestors have put the cart before the horse; mining for uranium has not yet begun, he underlined…Stepan Petrosian, head of the village Lernadzor, closest to the mine project, says…“If they start mining, you can be sure nobody will stay in the village because nobody wants to give birth to children with defects and problems”…