11,000 signatures against, 3,000 rallying to stop it, 1 open letter sent to the president of Armenia Serge Sargsyan signed by 10 NGOs. Only 300 meters from Lernadzor and just 18 km from Kapan. 1 region versus 1 company. These are yet the numbers behind the story of uranium mine explorations in Lernadzor village (population of 416 ) near Kapan city (population of 45,500).
Armenia.Now writes ''Armenian-Russian Mining Organization” CJSC has the monopoly of uranium resources research and uranium mines exploitation in the whole territory of Armenia. The research works started on August 5, 2009, and they will last until August 23, 2014. The permission granted to the company by the RA Ministry of Natural Protection, has not passed public hearings, even though in 2001 Armenia ratified the Aarhus Convention, defining participation of the public in issues of ecological concern.''
According to Ministry of Energy and Recourses ''Only prospecting work is being carried out today. Then, there will be geological work, drilling activities should be conducted to see if uranium is present there and in what quantities''.
While population and the governors of the city are against any explorations and the people in Lernadzor are even considering leaving their houses if the project gets a ‘‘go’’, there seems to be no dialogue between those directly affected and those who make decisions on the matter.
Yet, we know that natural recourses of Armenia should belong to people and we believe our voice should make a difference. Here we'd like to share our concerns on beginning of the process for uranium mining in Kapan area and open a floor for discussions.
Those engaged, what's your story?
