In solidarity with the campaign to #SaveAmulsar, we urgently need to take action.
Jersey-registered mining firm Lydian International’s plans for a toxic gold mine in the Armenian mountains have been stopped by community resistance. The mine has been blockaded for over a year, halting construction completely and preventing any gold from being extracted.
But Lydian are now threatening a corporate courts lawsuit to bully the government into forcefully removing local protesters.
Take action: urge Lydian International to drop their plans for toxic mining and corporate courts.Corporate courts (or ISDS – Investor state dispute settlement) allow big businesses to sue governments for measures that harm their profits. They’re now being used by Jersey-registered mining firm Lydian International to bully Armenia’s new government into quashing democratic protests against the Amulsar gold mine, under construction in the southern mountains of the country.
In April 2018, Armenia’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ saw peaceful protests end years of autocratic rule. Galvanised by the revolution, local communities whose water and livelihoods are endangered are taking a stand. An inspiring community blockade has stopped all work on the mine for the past year.
But Armenia’s struggle for democracy now faces a new threat: corporate courts. The future of the revolution hangs in the balance: will the new government side with its people or powerful investors? Lydian are using the threat of corporate courts to undermine the resistance at Amulsar and swing the balance of power in their favour.
Across the world, people are fighting and winning against destructive mining and corporate courts. Together, we can stop Lydian’s toxic attack on democracy and end corporate courts for good.
source: https://act.globaljustice.org.uk/stop-lydian%E2%80%99s-toxic-attack-democracy