Karabakh activist Mher Pogosyan ends his hunger strike

Today, Mher Pogosyan, a resident of Stepanakert, has ended his protest rally against the construction of a hydroelectric power plant (HPP). The protestor says that he is satisfied with the creation of a commission to examine environmental harm. Mher Pogosyan called for an anti-corruption inspection.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 27, Mher Pogosyan, a resident of Stepanakert, joined the hunger strike of Karvachar resident Alexander Kananyan. The protesters demanded to stop the construction of small HPPs on the Trtu (Terter) River and to check the environmental safety of all HPPs in the region. On February 4, the expert commission began studying the problem concerning the construction of small HPPs, and Alexander Kananyan stopped his hunger strike.

Today, Mher Pogosyan has also stopped his hunger strike. The conducted protest action was "the first major achievement on the way to the solution of the problem," the activist told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Mher Pogosyan believes that the expert commission should examine small HPPs not only in the Karvachar District, but also throughout the whole territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and establish how harmful the HPPs are to the environment.

Besides, Mher Pogosyan insists on an inspection to be conducted by the law enforcement bodies. "I believe that all financial and credit documents for small HPPs should be checked for corruption," the activist said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 5, 2020 at 11:37 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.