PACE panel approves draft resolution on Sarsang water reservoir
By Sara Rajabova
The Presidential Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has approved a draft resolution on the Sarsang water reservoir, President of the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan, member of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, Elkhan Suleymanov, said in a statement issued on September 2.
The Presidential Committee has sent to a PACE bureau the draft resolution on "Expected humanitarian catastrophe caused by the dangerous condition of the Sarsang Water Reservoir in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan".
Sarsang, the highest water reservoir of Azerbaijan situated 726 meters above sea level, was built on the Tartar River during the Soviet times in 1976. Since 1992, the Sarsang reservoir has been under the control of the Armenian armed forces, and as a result, the frontline regions have been deprived of the opportunity to use its water.
The Presidential Committee recommended that the Bureau send the draft resolution to the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development for the appointment of a rapporteur.
According to Suleymanov, on his initiative the draft resolution was signed on June 25 by 45 PACE parliamentarians from 18 countries.
Stressing the importance of the document, the MP said the Assembly strongly criticized the illegal blockade by Armenia of the water supply and irrigation system in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which is in violation of the fundamental principles of international law.
At the same time, the Assembly urges to hand over their illegal control of this water reservoir and related irrigation systems to the Azerbaijani authorities, in compliance with previous international resolutions.
It also calls for immediate action from the international community to prevent any scenarios of military provocation and to be prepared for any accident or natural disaster which may cause massive human casualties.
According to Suleymanov, the approval of the draft resolution by the Presidential Committee is undoubtedly a very important step and, as a rule, its recommendations to the Bureau do not come back.
The MP added that according to the rules of procedure, the rapporteur to be appointed by the committee on social affairs will prepare a report on the issue to be discussed at the plenary session of the PACE.
Suleymanov said that three months ago, the association started a large-scale project on the Sarsang reservoir and the adoption of the resolution by the PACE is an integral part of the project.
Suleymanov noted that the association will hold an international conference on the Sarsang reservoir in Tartar on September 7 where in addition to local experts three foreign experts will deliver reports.
He added that the event will be attended not only by representatives of the local media, but also by numerous journalists from the countries of western Europe.
As a result of the Armenian occupation following a brutal war in the early 1990s, seven regions of Azerbaijan can no longer use water from the reservoir, which is currently in an emergency condition as it has not been maintained due to the occupation.
Engineers and hydrologists have predicted that if the dam fails it will inundate more than 30 villages. Currently the risk of a disaster due to an accident is very high and the lives of 400,000 Azerbaijani citizens who live in the six regions downstream are in immediate danger.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for over two decades. Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that sparked a lengthy war in the early 1990s. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to date.