Police Visit Amulsar Posts: Activist Shirak Buniatyan

Shirak Buniatyan, an activist fighting against the exploitation of the Amulsar mine and a resident of Jermuk, has made a statement:

“Yesterday, on December 8, the acting head of the Vayots Dzor Police Department Gevorg Grigoryan, Jermuk Police Chief Ashot Khachatryan, and several other police officers visited the Amulsar posts. During the meeting, Mr. Grigoryan proposed that access to Amulsar be granted, even if only for five days, to carry out winterization work. We rejected the offer, arguing that there had been no work done since last year's winterization and it is not the case that the packaged equipment needs to be repackaged. Moreover, any access to the Amulsar area harms our cause by prolonging it even further.

The conversation occurred in a civilized and cooperative atmosphere. Today, December 9, we received a call from Jermuk Police Chief A. Khachatryan, who relayed that preliminary information indicates that the Deputy Ministers of Police of Armenia, the Governor of Vayots Dzor, and other officials wish to meet at the ‘Grand Resort’ hotel in Jermuk at 15:00. We have no information regarding the content of the meeting, so we will publish details after it takes place. Regardless of all meetings, Amulsar will remain a mountain—this is final.”

The statement was released on behalf of the “Protectors of Amulsar.”