Samvel Meliksetyan, the headman of Teghut, calls for uniting not against the exploitation of the Teghut mine, but for struggling against illegal deforestation, “According to the information of environmentalists, 2000ha of forest are cut in Armenia every year, let’s unite and end it, 350ha of Teghut are not a big deal.” During a conversation of Aravot.am, the headman of the village said that it was not right to struggle against the exploitation of the Teghut mine from Yerevan, “I think, no one except for us will rescue the village. I am with my fellow villagers. Certainly, I am for the exploitation of the mine, because I have seen the other side for years, i.e. how environmentalists offer people to earn for living by gathering blackberries. I am for my people to have a job and live respectfully.” In the headman’s words, the village population is 770 people, 180 of which work for Valex Company, “Before Valex came to Teghut, 184 people left for Russia to work every year, today only 3 people leave. They make 60-350 thousand AMD, people exist, what else do you want?”
Mr. Meliksetyan is convinced that the problem in their village will not be that big, as they represent it, even if the mine is exploited, “They exaggerate problems all the time, they say the Teghut River is put up for auction. Let me say that there is no Teghut River in the first place, the Shnogh River flows across Teghut, the river is perceived as waters that cannot be alienated, no one can privatize and no one has apprized them, therefore they deceive people by such foolish things. During the past two years, the courses of only two rivers have changed, one for 2,5km and the other a bit more. There is no need for serious concerns.”
In the headman’s words, there are a few people among environmentalists who are really concerned about the environmental problems in Teghut, the others, “I don’t know who eats whose grants, but the majority of environmentalists who struggle against the exploitation of Teghut with grants have hidden agenda and are financed either by an Armenian oligarch or it is not ruled out by Azerbaijani, Turkish sources.”
Environmentalist Hakob Sanasaryan opposed the village headman, “The issue of Teghut is not the issue of the residents of Teghut, the Teghut mine is the issue of the Armenian citizens. As for receiving grants by environmentalists or being dictated from without, it can be said only by a man who cannot imagine what the Teghut project is, what losses Armenia will suffer. The project is for 28 years, according to the draft, 1100 people should work on the construction and during 25 years of exploitation 500 people. However, after 28 years, thousands of workplaces will be eliminated, because that territory will have been eliminated as an agricultural area by that time. This is for consideration by villagers who struggle for workplaces.”
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Arpine SIMONYAN
