YEREVAN -- A group of environmental activists has disrupted an international mining conference in the Armenian capital.
The activists rushed into a conference room in a hotel in downtown Yerevan on March 25 where Armenian and international officials and experts had gathered to discuss ecological safety in the country's mining sector.
The activists held posters saying, "Hands Off Armenia!" and, "You Mine, We Die."
They also brought water which they said came from the Gekhi River in the southern province of Syunik and asked conference participants to drink it.
The river is known to be polluted by local mining operations.
The conference, which was being attended by Armenian government representatives, the World Bank’s country manager, and the U.S., U.K., and German ambassadors, was temporarily suspended due to the disruption.
The activists rushed into a conference room in a hotel in downtown Yerevan on March 25 where Armenian and international officials and experts had gathered to discuss ecological safety in the country's mining sector.
The activists held posters saying, "Hands Off Armenia!" and, "You Mine, We Die."
They also brought water which they said came from the Gekhi River in the southern province of Syunik and asked conference participants to drink it.
The river is known to be polluted by local mining operations.
The conference, which was being attended by Armenian government representatives, the World Bank’s country manager, and the U.S., U.K., and German ambassadors, was temporarily suspended due to the disruption.
