After meeting minister, Karabakh activist continues his hunger strike

On January 24, Alexander Kananyan, a political analyst, was visited by Grigory Martirosyan, a minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), and told him about the environmental threats of the operation of small hydropower plants (HPPs) on the Trtu River. Mr Kananyan refused to end his hunger strike, because no decision was made to stop the HPPs.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on January 21, Alexander Kananyan went on a hunger strike demanding to stop the construction of small HPPs on the Trtu (Terter) River in the Karvachar District of the NKR, and to check the environmental safety of all the HPPs in the region. On January 22, Karvachar’s schoolchildren supported the demands of the political analyst. The NKR’s Ombudsperson initiated Kananyan’s negotiations with the government, which announced the suspension of construction works, but Kananyan refused to stop his hunger strike.

He wrote in his Facebook that the NKR’s authorities “are still not fully aware of the seriousness of the situation in Karvachar.” In his opinion, the authorities should recognize the need for unconditional suspension of the operation of small HPPs in order to preserve the ecological system of the Karvachar District.

He has added that he feels well, despite a slight weakness.