Jermuk City Council Rejects Message Addressed to Prime Minister Regarding Amulsar

During its meeting on April 21, the Jermuk community council voted to reject a message addressed to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan regarding the exploitation of the Amulsar mine. The agenda item, titled "On Accepting the Message Addressed to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia," was proposed by council member and leader of the “Living Country” faction, Syuzanna Avetisyan.

In the draft message, it is stated: "As members of a representative body, we send you this message to clarify the unexpected decision made by the Government of Armenia, which is currently not only environmental but also has security significance after the September 2022 aggression. We also request that in the future, similar decisions regarding Jermuk be made by considering the opinions of local self-governing bodies and the people, which is an important democratic value."

Out of the 12 council members present at the meeting, only two voted in favor of the message: the author of the proposal, Syuzanna Avetisyan, the sole representative of the “Living Country” party in the Jermuk City Council, and Azat Hovakimyan, the lone member representing the “Our Community” party coalition. The ten members of the “Civil Contract” party, which holds a decisive majority, abstained from voting, and the proposal was not accepted.

Syuzanna Avetisyan told Hetq that this issue had been discussed for about three months. "They promised to include it in the agenda of the previous council meeting, but it was not included. This time I brought the proposal to the meeting, voted, and included it in the agenda. In fact, there was no discussion, and the ruling party abstained from voting," stated Avetisyan.

She emphasized in the text of the message that the unique and irreplaceable trademark of Jermuk has always been its therapeutic mineral water and ecologically clean environment. Jermuk is known for its cold springs, water resources, and the Kechut reservoir, located within the community, which has strategic importance for Armenia.

Avetisyan reminded council members that in their own adopted 2022-2026 five-year development plan, the direction chosen for community development is the improvement of tourism infrastructure. Over the years, both local and state strategies in the community have aimed to make it a tourism center. Residents of the Jermuk community have also consistently favored the path of tourism development, envisioning a clean, well-kept, and picturesque community.

According to the council member, residents are concerned that decisions regarding the mine’s exploitation have been made without consulting them or hearing their opinions. The Armenian government signed a tripartite memorandum with the Eurasian Development Bank and Lydian Armenia LLC on February 22, 2023, to resume the mining project at the Amulsar site, raising significant concerns among the population.

The council member recalled that back in autumn 2018, via a public petition, about 3,000 residents of the enlarged Jermuk community opposed metallic mining with their signatures. “Perhaps a referendum should have been held to listen to the residents’ opinions, which is a mandatory requirement under the Local Self-Governance Law. However, not only residents but also local self-governing bodies are excluded from the decision-making process on this issue. For years, both you and the government have publicly discussed the negative impact of the Amulsar project, which raises further doubts and concerns among residents,” the message addressed to the Prime Minister states.

It should be noted that since 2018, local self-governing bodies have ceased making decisions concerning Lydian Armenia LLC, but resumed this spring. Specifically, during the council meeting on April 21, 2023, a decision was made to establish property servitude over a total area of 1.1842 hectares (7 plots) of community property and 1.6705 hectares (6 plots) of state property in the administrative territory of the village of Gndevaz for the needs of Lydian Armenia LLC (water pipeline construction). Monthly fees of 20,000 drams have been set for each plot from the time of state registration of the servitude. Three members of the “Civil Contract” party abstained from voting on applying the servitude without explaining their position.

It is noteworthy that the lease terms for the lands, totaling 47.55 hectares, between Lydian Armenia and the head of Gndevaz village were extended until January 1, 2034, by a decision made on April 5, 2017.