Government pushing people to demonstrate
"A1+" presents the statement entitled "Another Act of Vandalism against Mother Nature" that ARF MP Lilit Galstyan issued on behalf of her party.
"Nature protection and the protection of the environment are one of the components of the civil coexistence of society and government. Unfortunately, this truth has nothing to do with Armenian reality.
We are witnessing and are the silent eyewitnesses of another act of vandalism against our nature, and this time it is an assault against Trchkan Waterfall, which is one the wonders of Armenia's nature. As a monument of special aesthetic value, Trchkan Waterfall has been included in the list of natural monuments of Armenia by decision 967-N of the RA Government in 2008. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped the Ministry of Nature Protection and other government agencies to grant Robshin LTD permission to build a 1 megawatt hydro-electric station in the zone of negative influence.
Illegitimate permission for construction of a hydro-electric station also breaches the RA law "On Specially Preserved Territories in Nature". Point 1 of Article 19 of that law prohibits the implementation of any activity that causes a threat to the protection of a monument in a territory where there is a natural monument.
This is a subsequent illegitimate decision, which has caused uproar of a part of our society and dozens of environmental organizations and has pushed them to hold actions to defend their rights and protect the country's interest. As in many cases, this time we are facing the reality where the authorities say one thing and do something totally different because they don't think of anything but their pockets.
It is not excluded that the same thing that happened to Shake Waterfall will happen to Trchkan Waterfall.
I am amazed at the government's persistence against the society's uproar. Instead of solving matters in a civilized manner, they are pushing our compatriots to defend their rights and dignity at rallies and in the European Court.
