Azernews.Az

By Trend

Armenia violates not only the principles of territorial integrity of another state, but also a number of conventions and resolutions, which prohibit the destruction of movable and immovable property of the occupied lands, reads an article Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Ecological catastrophe of the 21st century" published on The London Post.

Author Anastasia Lavrina, who is the Assistant to the President of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF), reminds that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has lasted for more than 25 years and is known as one of the most protracted and bloody conflicts throughout the world.

"Since the beginning of the Armenia’s occupational policy against Azerbaijan, 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan, including the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, are under the control of the Armenian armed forces," Lavrina says.

The author notes that more than 25 years the conflict causes difficulties to human development, economy, industry and agriculture in the occupied territory, as well as in the front-line regions of Azerbaijan.

"The richest minerals of Azerbaijan, including five gold deposits, remained in the occupied territories. For example, in the Kelbajar region of Azerbaijan, there is an exploited gold deposit, which is currently used by Armenians as a source of profit. There is an illegal looting of minerals, deposits of precious stones, which are then transferred to Armenia," she says.

Lavrina stresses that the impact of military operations on environment is very destructive.

"In recent years, environmental indicators in the occupied areas and in the front-line villages have significantly worsened, if not exacerbated. Constant shelling of nearby villages, arson of the fields and blockage of water supply from the Sarsang water reservoir located on the Terter River in the north part of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, provoked an ecological catastrophe, the scale of which only increases day by day," the author notes.

The author adds that the cases of arson in the occupied territory aimed at destruction of the forest areas are not uncommon. "The arson of the villages of Agdam, Fizuli, Jebrail, Terter and Khojavend districts were observed. Moreover, the cases of arson attacks in the front-line regions of Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces are also detected. It leads to burning out the small part of the crop that local people are capable to produce. The flame is spreading around, burning all the vegetation on its way and causing serious damage to the environment and wildlife. Considering the fact that for many people, land ownership is the main way to earn money, the destruction of crops destroys the ability of people to earn and feed their families. In addition, constant shelling of the front-line regions makes it dangerous for life to deal with farming in open areas," she says.

The author also mentioned the factor of pollution and poisoning of water, noting that over the years, the discharge of polluted waters from Armenia into the rivers of the region has been regularly carried out.

The author notes that by such behavior, Armenia violates not only the principles of territorial integrity of another state, but also a number of conventions and resolutions, which prohibit the destruction of movable and immovable property of the occupied state. Moreover, as a partner of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the state’s current policy contradicts with the UN environmental standards.

"Despite the calls of some representatives of the world community, associations and specially created monitoring missions on the need to prevent the ecological catastrophe provoked by the protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian community continues to ignore all the appeals. Moreover, it does not allow experts to visit the occupied regions and assess the scale of the environmental catastrophe, which continues to increase. There is a need for a broader coverage of this problem at the international level," the author concludes.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz