Baku, Azerbaijan, June 2
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
The founding conference of the 'Stop Metsamor' international NGO coalition was held in Baku June 2.
The event was attended by NGO representatives from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Israel, Ukraine, Iran, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Armenia.
Following the conference, the participants signed a declaration on founding the international NGO coalition.
Head of the Armenian Intra-national Liberation Movement Vahan Martirosyan, who joined the event through the videoconference, said that the creation of the 'Stop Metsamor' international NGO coalition is very important, since the Metsamor nuclear power plant poses threat not only to Armenia, but the whole region.
Armenia's Metsamor nuclear power plant was built in 1970. The power plant was closed after a devastating earthquake in Spitak in 1988. But despite the international protests, the power plant's operation was resumed in 1995. Moreover, a second reactor was launched there.
Martirosyan noted that the organization led by him has joined the coalition.
"The European Union has proposed to suspend this plant's operation, but the talks on this issue have deadlocked as a result of the disruptive activities of Armenian authorities," he added.
Martirosyan said that the Metsamor nuclear power plant is located in a seismically active zone.
"In this regard, Metsamor is one of the most dangerous nuclear power plants in the world," he said. "Therefore, not only NGOs, but all international organizations should be active in order to suspend its operation."
