Azernews.Az

Thursday March 28 2024

Baku says Armenia uses water recourses in hydro terror

28 November 2013 19:33 (UTC+04:00)
Baku says Armenia uses water recourses in hydro terror

By Sara Rajabova

Armenia's acts of hydro terror and hydro diversion were discussed at a conference held on November 25.

Titled "Armenia's Hydro Terror and Hydro Diversion Acts as a Threat to Regional Security", the scientific-practical conference was co-organized by the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) and Geography Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS).

CSR Director Farhad Mammadov said the water problem is a great concern for all the countries in the world, adding that drinking water shortage may become a major problem in the 21st century.

However, Mammadov said, some countries use water as a means of terror, adding that Armenia has used water recourses as a tool of hydro terror over the years.

He said Azerbaijan should always protest against this move and inform the world community about it.

Collaborator of Earth sciences department of ANAS Fakhraddin Gadirov said Armenia uses the trans-boundary watercourses with sabotage purposes against Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the conference, MP Rovshan Rzayev said not only the separatist forces of Nagorno-Karabakh, but also Armenia is not capable of repairing the Sarsang dam.

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 its water.

He said up to now no preventive measures have been taken at Sarsang water reservoir. Sarsang water reservoir is left open in winter and closed in summer when it is needed.

He went on to say that the destruction of Sarsang water reservoir in a natural way by Armenia is a military and ecological problem in the region. According to him, Azerbaijan should urge Armenia through international organizations to comply with ecological regulations.

Rzayev said the destruction of Sarsang water reservoir in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan can create problems for the surrounding regions.

The Assembly strongly criticized Armenia's illegal blockade on the water supply and irrigation system in Azerbaijan's occupied territories, calling it a violation of the fundamental principles of international law.

The Presidential Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) approved earlier a draft resolution on the Sarsang water reservoir.

President of the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan and member of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Elkhan Suleymanov said the draft resolution was signed at his initiative on June 25 by 45 PACE parliamentarians from 18 countries.

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, because it has not been maintained due to the occupation.

Engineers and hydrologists have predicted that if the dam breaks down, it will flood more than 30 villages. The risk of a disaster resulting from an accident is currently 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.

Loading...
Latest See more