Armenia: three Amulsar defenders arrested on suspicion of hooliganism

Residents of the city of Jermuk have been arrested after a brawl with supporters of the development of the Amulsar deposit; and the gathering in support thereof ended in new detentions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since 2014, Jermuk townspeople have been protesting against the development of the Amulsar gold field. On August 20, activists held a motor rally to Yerevan, announcing it as a start of a series of peaceful disobedience actions.

Three Jermuk residents were arrested after a conflict with villagers of Goraik and Saravan that broke out on September 15, Shirak Buniatyan, a Jermuk resident, has informed. According to his story, the clash was between supporters and opponents of the development of the Amulsar field.

On September 22, local residents gathered in Jermuk in support of the arrested persons.

Mkhitar Aslanyan, a Jermuk resident, believes that the brawl was provoked by the head of the Gndevaz village, who, in his opinion, is interested in the prompt development of the field.

Levon Galstyan, a member of the Armenian Ecological Front, believes that authorities keep the development of the situation around Amulsar secret from the public.

The events around Amulsar indicate that the ruling power is losing a sense of reality and has adopted the policy of the previous authorities – to decide anything secretly from the society, Nina Karapetyants, the head of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, asserts.

Earlier, the "Lydian Armenia" Company stated that investors, who had invested about USD 500 million, prefer to settle the problem out of court rather than through litigation.