Azerbaijan's strategy aims to prevent disaster at water reservoir in occupied land - report
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijan presents a multi-stage strategy aimed to protect its citizens in the case of a catastrophic failure or sabotage on a half-ruined Sarsang water reservoir, which is located in the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, PRNewswire said on its website.
At the same time, Azerbaijani government officials will increase efforts to draw attention to the problem within the international community.
The Sarsang reservoir - a 12 kilometer-long lake held back by a 125 metre high dam - is reportedly in desperate need of remedial engineering in line with the specifications laid down when it was built 36 years ago, PRNewswire's press release said.
Azerbaijan warns about the lack of attention to this problem by Armenia, which means that at present a risk of disaster due to accident is very high and the lives of 400,000 Azerbaijani citizens who live in the six regions downstream are in immediate danger. As a result, Baku presented a strategy called Prevention of Sarsang Humanitarian Danger based on additional information on the condition of the dam, PRNewswire said.
The document envisions paying attention to this problem within the framework of the United Nations, the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers and the OSCE - bodies that have all passed resolutions against the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh - and calls for the implementation of regular monitoring of the dam's technical condition.
It also said that the document envisages preparing a civil emergency plan to evacuate the 400,000 endangered citizens in the event of flooding caused by the dam's failure.
According to the Azerbaijani government, this is a broad, multi-pronged response to a fast evolving crisis, the press release says.
It also noted that Azerbaijan will invite key international figures to events in Baku and Brussels to ensure the world is kept informed of this fast-evolving threat.
Earlier, MP Elkhan Suleymanov said at the conference "The Geopolitics of Azerbaijan and European Energy Security" held in Vienna that the Sarsang Reservoir currently is a serious source of threat to the people living in six regions downstream. He pointed out that civilians living in the frontline regions of Azerbaijan have lived under threat for about 25 years.
"Obviously, any accident would result in both an environmental crisis and mass casualties of civilians as well as a humanitarian crisis," Suleymanov noted.
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 Armenia's withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.
The Sarsang reservoir, which is of strategic importance, is the highest water reservoir of Azerbaijan situated at 726 meters above sea level (with the dam 125 meters high and capacity of 560 million cubic meters). It was built on the Tartar River in 1976. As a result of the Armenian occupation, seven regions of Azerbaijan can no longer enjoy water taken from this reservoir. The Sarsang reservoir is currently in an emergency condition, as it has not been maintained due to the occupation.
The MP stated that the world community, particularly leading world powerhouses, should finally show objectivity and take specific steps to put an end to the Armenian military occupation.
According to Suleymanov, these steps should be immediately taken and a new humanitarian catastrophe caused by a possible accident on the Sarsang reservoir should be prevented.
Speaking at the mentioned conference, Italy's former Vice-Minister of Trade and Industry and President of Farefuturo Foundation Adolfo Urso said that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem was a forgotten conflict. He noted that the resolutions of international organizations are not enforced, and Azerbaijan's relations with neighbors are complicated.
Regarding the Sarsang reservoir, Urso said the collapse of a similar dam in Italy in 1963 resulted in a huge catastrophe with 2,000 casualties and expressed his concern over the threat of such an accident occuring at any time in Azerbaijan.
Former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer called on media representatives to cover the threat of an accident on the Sarsang reservoir and possible multiple human casualties.