Environmentalists urge dissolving Ministry of Nature Protection
Armenian Parliament (National Assembly) convened a special sitting on Monday. In the meantime, over 50 environmentalists staged a protest outside the parliament building demanding that the legislative body remove the environmental impact assessment bill from its agenda. They tried to warn the Armenian lawmakers that ‘the Ministry of Nature Protection is harming Nature.'
The environmentalists state that the Ministry introduced amendments in the bill for the benefit of businessmen and demand remitting the bill and organizing public discussions.
"Nature belongs to us, we are the master of this land. We want this issue to be settled once and for all," said the activists.
They say that the bill violates the Aarhus Convention and the NA legislation.
"The adoption of the bill will facilitate eco-colonists' activity in Armenia," said environmentalist Apres Zohrabyan. "Armenia's uterus is destroyed in a careless manner and the law will further spoil our nature."
"The public must be involved in the discussion of environment-related legal acts, as everybody has a right to live in a healthy environment," said lawyer Mari Khachatryan.
The protesters suggest dissolving the Ministry of Nature Protection, saying the funds spent on the Ministry can be used for other purposes.
