US-Armenian Rocker Tankian Calls for Change in Armenia

Tankian said on Monday that he discussed with Sargisian plans by an Armenian mining company to develop Teghut, a massive copper and molybdenum deposit in the northern Lori region covered by a 357-hectare forest. The Teghut project, if implemented, will lead to the destruction of 128,000 trees. Critics say that would wreak further havoc on Armenia’s green areas that have already shrunk dramatically since the 1990s.

Tankian heaped praise on Armenian environmentalists campaigning against the project.

“I think they are doing a great job,” he said. “I fully and firmly agree with their stance. I think open-pit mining is very dangerous in this country and everywhere else. I think we’ll be poisoning our lives by opening up that mine in the Teghut forest.”

The outspoken singer revered by Armenians around the world went on to advocate Armenia’s transformation into “a lot more selfsufficient” country because of its geographic location and uneasy relations with neighbors. He called, among other things, for more government subsidies to farmers and a strict ban on genetically modified agricultural products.

Tankian, who will turn 44 next Sunday, cautioned, however, that Armenians should be “patient” in expecting positive changes in their country. “We are a 20-year-old country and in retrospect, if you look at the whole situation, I think we are doing pretty well, despite everything that we talked about,” he said. “It’s a beautiful country with beautiful people. There is a lot of potential, there is a lot of energy.”

Tankian was also “really excited” by the ecstatic and mostly young crowd that turned up for his concert broadcast live by an Armenian TV channel. “It was something I’d never experienced before … It was a level of high that I’d never had before,” he said.