In its May 26th edition “Hetq” published an article by Voskan Sargsyan, its reporter in the Tavush Marz, entitled, “Who is pocketing the Profits from the Sand Mine?”. The article exposed facts regarding the illegal extraction of from the White Water reservoir, built along the Aghstev River at the southern entrance to the town of Ijevan.

The reporter substantiated his information on site and both photographed and videotaped the entire mining and transportation operation. Mr. Sargsyan also spoke to workers at the reservoir and submitted a list of written questions to those involved in order to obtain some official response regarding what was taking place.

In 1997, by a decision of the Armenian government, the White Water reservoir was granted to the Ijevan Municipality as public property. However, the Ijevan Municipality, the main body responsible for activities taking place at the site in question still hasn’t replied to a letter the article’s author forwarded to it.

The Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection has stated that, “The right to exploit the sand from the reservoir has not been granted to any one physical or legal entity since studies as to the reserves located there haven’t taken place and thus any licensing agreement has not been signed.”

The Prosecutor’s Office, rather than investigating the facts as presented in the article, went to the Ijevan Municipality to ask questions and uncovered that, “only sediment was being extracted from the lake basin to fill in the park land adjacent to the Municipality”, thus refuting the obvious evidence that sand is being mined. In the meantime the reporter also visited the town of Dilijan and found out that in the month of June sand from the White Water reservoir was being trucked in for use in the construction of the amphitheater there.

This and many other facts lead the “Hetq” reporter to conclude that the illegal sand mining was being undertaken with the knowledge and consent of Ijevan Mayor Varujan Nersisyan. This conclusion didn’t meet with the approval of the Mayor who initiated a suit in the Yerevan Civil Court seeking to, “Refute the information slandering our good name and reputation and to raise the issue of compensation.”

The suit demands, “That the Investigative Journalists, NGO, refute the published baseless information laid at the doorstep of the Ijevan Municipality and reports that defame the dignity and working reputation of Ijevan Mayor Nersisyan.” To bolster its argument the suit notes that the Municipality is interested in exposing and punishing all acts of illegal mining and with this aim in mind has on numerous occasions petitioned T. Baghdasaryan and S. Galstyan, Department Heads of the Ijevan Branch of the Minister of Internal Affairs, starting back in 2000. What remains puzzling is why the Ijevan Mayor, ostensibly so concerned with the fate of White Water, has never seen fit to complain about the inaction of the Ijevan Police within the past eight years.

Mayor Nersisyan telephoned the Chief Editor of “Hetq” and asked. “How are you so sure that the profits from the mine are going into the pocket of just one person?” This question, in itself, attests to the fact that profits are being realized through illegal mining activities and that perhaps more than one person is reaping the profits.

On June 4th, 5th and 6th the Ijevan Municipality broadcast the following statement over the air waves of the “Ijevan Studio” TV station, “This is to notify the residents of the town of Ijevan and surrounding area that it is strictly forbidden to extract sand or sediment from either the Aghstev River bed or the artificial reservoir called White Lake, both located in the Ijevan administrative district. Any such operations will been deemed as illegal and those engaged in such mining will be held responsible before the law.

We urge all residents, including Noyemberyan resident Mr. Voskan Sargsyan, who has taken such an active interest in the Ijevan community, to report all pertinent information regarding the extraction and sale of sand and sediment either to law enforcement or to the Ijevan Municipality.

At the same time, we request that law enforcement and environmental agencies intensify their inspection of the White Water reservoir, the surrounding area, as well as the Aghstev river bed, with the aim of preventing and restricting such mining activities.” What’s laughable, to say the least, is that the Ijevan Municipality, in the face of the overwhelming preponderance of evidence, chose to reach out to residents, including reporter Voskan Sargsyan, with such public requests rather than taking concrete action itself.

The Municipality, by making such a public statement in which the name  of the objectionable article’s author is disclosed, merely seeks to remind those so engaged in these activities who is disrupting their operations and where the ‘threat’ is coming from.

The court suit brought against “Hetq”, which seeks to restore ‘the tarnished reputation’ of the Mayor of Ijevan, is already rife with violations. At the May 23rd session of the Ijevan Community Council a decision was passed, “To seek legal services in order to make the author of the slanderous article accountable for his statements.”

The decision also stated that, “Taking the Mayor’s proposal into account, the Council has decided to expend 930,000 drams for legal services in order to make the article’s author accountable for his statements.” During the Council session one of the members, Vahe Ghalumyan, asked why the Mayor wasn’t availing himself of the services of the lawyer attached to the Mayor’s Office, Mr. Gaylikyan, and was it correct to spend 930,000 drams from the community’s budget. Mayor Varujan Nersisyan answered that this matter needed to be handed over to an attorney with a special permit and that the funds would be returned to the budget in any event.

In order to defend his personal reputation the Mayor has seen fit to dip into the community’s resources. To substantiate such an expenditure it is noted in the court suit that, “the Municipality cannot remain indifferent to the publishing of such articles given that by tarnishing a working official they also directly negatively impact on the workings of the public office itself.”

The Mayor is hopeful that the court will see fit to recover the 930,000 drams in ‘legal fees’ from the Investigative Journalists, NGO.