23:40, 10 August 2020

In Armenia, slogans to save Amulsar followed by new detentions of its defenders

A rally to support residents of Jermuk. The poster reads, "Democracy is in Jermuk, not in Yerevan." Yerevan, August 10, 2020. Photo by Tigran Petrosyan for the "Caucasian Knot"

About 20 activists gathered in front of the building of the Armenian parliament to support residents of Jermuk on protest against the development of the Amulsar mine. Half of the protesters were detained.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the situation in Amulsar aggravated after at night on August 4, the geological exploration "Lydian Armenia" Company removed the trailers in which local residents were on duty and installed its own trailers. On August 5, about 200 activists demanded from the Armenian authorities to revise the conclusions about the impact of the mine on the environment.

The police noted that the activists' game "began to turn into a rally banned during the state of emergency." The protesters declared that the police demand was "illegal."

Edgar Djanoyan, the deputy chief for the Information Department of the Armenian Police, reported that ten activists were detained for disobeying the lawful demands of the police.

According to human rights defender Nina Karapetyants, the head of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, the most alarming phenomenon is that the protest actions are taking place amid the silence in the Armenian parliament.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 10, 2020 at 07:08 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Armine Martirosyan

Source: CK correspondent