Yesterday another clash took place between environmentalists and the officials of the Ministry of Nature Protection. The problem is that the Ministry of Nature Protection initiated public hearings in the Khosrov Forest, whereas environmentalists who had first raised the issue of the illegal construction in the Khosrov Forest had not been invited.
www.aravot.am called the environmentalists to find out whether they had managed to agree with the government representatives yesterday. One of the environmentalists, Yeghia Nersesyan, informed during a conversation with us, “They invited the interested parties that were favorable to them keeping us out of the game. However, finding out that such hearings had been initiated, we went to the Khosrov Reserve. They tried to push us out of the hall all the time. We impeded them; we didn’t allow them to carry out the project they wanted. I can assume that they wanted to determine the fate of the Khosrov Reserve; they wanted to elect the director. However, they held a stupid discussion; they discussed only two out of seven-eight issues on the agenda. I.e. whether they want to develop tourism or not, or they will carry out some eco-monitoring.”
Y. Nersesyan told during a conversation with us that different people urged them to go out; even the Minister of Nature Protection took that step. When Yeghia asked the Minister whether they disturbed them with their silence and presence, he said, “You disturb me.”
It was also strange for Y. Nersesyan that a UN car had reached the Khosrov border, one of their representatives wanted to talk with him, then the car was gone.
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Y. Nersesyan assessed the situation, stating, “Unfortunately, we are not consistent in our victories, at least, in the case of Trchkan, it is so. In the end, the one who had made the decision was not punished. For example, the Minister asked me why I didn’t want to announce my candidacy for the director of the Khosrov Reserve. I told him that I needed a working system and I would go and live my life, I didn’t want to be a director. The Minister stated that we were more stubborn than oligarchs. This means that they take us seriously.”
Environmentalist Gevorg Safaryan, assessing what the government representatives did, stated that it “is non-transparent work.” Then he went into detail, “There are always some issues at such meetings, which the government doesn’t wish the public to know about. They don’t want to make clear what goes on behind the scenes. However, we will be consistent, our actions also show that. There is no way to tolerate, since the whole Armenian environment is being destroyed, eliminated.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
