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Demonstrators Demand a Halt to Planned Leasing of Syunik Pasture Lan

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  • Demonstrators Demand a Halt to Planned Leasing of Syunik Pasture Lan

    Demonstrators Demand a Halt to Planned Leasing of Syunik Pasture Lands to Iran
    Narek Aleksanyan

    http://hetq.am/eng/news/23335/demonstrators-demand-a-halt-to-planned-leasing-of-syunik-pasture-lands-to-iran.html
    13:27, February 14, 2013


    Demonstrators assembled in front of the Armenian Government building
    in Yerevan to voice their opposition regarding any plan to lease
    pasture land in Armenia's southern Syunik Province to Iranian
    sheepherders.

    Holding signs that read `Nomadic Animal Herders Have No Business in
    Syounik', protest participants argued that is rife with security,
    demographic and environmental risks.

    They said that such a plan, much bandied about in the Armenian press
    would hurt the domestic livestock industry and was being promoted by a
    small group of businessmen looking to make a profit at the expense of
    national interests.

    Other signs on display read `Not One Arab Sheep in Syunik' and `Let's
    Protect the Lands Saved by Nzhdeh from the Nzhdeh Poseurs of Today'.



    Armen Lazarian, a member of the board of the Hayazni NGO, which
    organized the protest, told Hetq that if the planned 50, 000 hectares
    for lease were concentrated in one locale the threats wouldn't be as
    great.

    `But Armenia doesn't have such a large expanse of pastureland in one
    area. Patches of land here and there will be destroyed by the
    rummaging sheep that eat the grass, roots and all. The land soon dries
    up.'



    Armen Hovhannisyan, another Hayazni activist, said the environmental
    ramifications would be disastrous.

    `We are diametrically opposed to any such step that further threatens
    the natural environment of Armenia. We view that environment as one
    where we will have to live, create a culture and develop statehood.'



    The demonstrators handed a copy of their demands to the government
    reception office. In their letter, they promised to follow-up on the
    issue and see to it that similar issues are nipped in the bud.

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