Yesterday, the S.O.S. Sevan, an umbrella alliance of groups determined to raise public awareness regarding the threats posed to Lake Sevan by the planned gold reprocessing plant to be built by the GeoProMining Company, called a public meeting at the Tekeyan Center. Invited to attend were representatives of GeoProMining, agencies of the RoA government, the president of the RoA Academy of Sciences, and representatives of the Academy's geological and fisheries research divisions. No one from GeoProMining, the main player in the issue, showed up for the seminar. Most of those in attendance were representatives from various NGO's. Only representatives from a few of the government agencies invited showed up as well. Nevertheless a heated and lively debate of the issues took place. Inga Zarafyan, President of the Ecolur informational center focuused her attention on the political threats posed by the planned project. "Sotk lies on the border with Kelbajar and can become the target for military attack and terrorist strikes." The main object of the debate was the March 2 review by Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan of the documents presented by GeoProMining regarding the project. Copies of the documents in the possession of the alliance members show that the conclusions reached by the government state that the project is safe and thanks are expressed to all government agencies involved for their assistance and advice. Simon Papayan, Deputy Minister for Nature Protection, stated to the participants that his office has never received any official correspondence from GeoProMining. He added that, "Article 10 of the "Lake Sevan Law" prohibits such operations at the Sevan basin and we are guided by this law. In the past, such a petition was made when the mine belonged to the Indians but we denied their request." When asked by "Hetq" what then was reviewed at the March 2 meeting, Mr. Papayan responded, "There was no review meeting. There was a reception where the company presented its vision of how to operate the mine site." When the discussion focused on the fact that the Hydro-ecology and Ichthyology Institute of the RoA Academy of Sciences received a contract to research the construction of the plant and issued a positive verdict, Scientific Secretary Evelina Ghukasyan (Ph.D.) of the Institute of Hydro-ecology and Ichthyology of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydro-ecology, commented that they had no other choice but to accept the contract and the money to be paid given that the institute has been studying the issues connected with Sevan for the past eighty years.