“If people had the right to block streets to ‘reject Serzh’ then they have the same rights when rejecting the exploitation of the Amulsar mine,” writes “Aravot.” In this regard, the paper criticizes authorities for not allowing activists protesting against the gold mine to enter a public park located inside the parliament compound in Yerevan. It says that the activities of Armenian environment protection groups “deserve respect” and must not be hampered. The paper says at the same time that opponents of the Amulsar project must not attempt to “muzzle” and “blackmail” those who support it. “The Amulsar issue is not only an ecological but also legal, political and economic one,” it says.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” notes that “many members of the ruling team have gone underground and are not uttering a word regarding Amulsar.” “Since when has silence become a sign of being principled?” asks the paper linked to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. “The real reason [for their silence] is simple fear. Those who are in favor of the mine’s exploitation are afraid of making that clear in public lest they be branded ‘traitors’ on Facebook, while those who are against the project fear the authorities’ ire. If they are scared of Facebook reactions how will they behave over more serious issues that could emerge later?”
“Zhamanak” wonders if the Amulsar controversy will lead to the breakup of Pashinian’s My Step alliance. The paper notes that some parliament deputies representing My Step have spoken out against the government’s apparent plans to allow a Western mining company to restart the project disrupted over a year ago. “My Step’s parliamentary group is a multi-layered team formed by the [2018] revolution for which the Amulsar issue is only the first political test,” it says. “Many, many other [contentious] issues are going to arise soon. This is not an apocalyptic prediction but the inevitable reality of governing a state that is located in a tough region and has serious security challenges.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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