Peaceful protest against ecocide in Karabakh denounces Armenia, France for abuse of UN platform

By Azernews

By Fatima Hasanova

The protesters on the Shusha-Khankandi road, under the temporary control of the Russian peacekeepers, spoke out against the UN Security Council's unilateral and biased presentation of their demonstration against the illegal exploitation of natural resources and environmental terrorism in the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

"We, representatives of non-governmental organizations, express our regret that a peaceful protest against the illegal exploitation of natural resources and environmental terror in the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed, at a meeting of the UN Security Council held on December 20, 2022, was presented by some states in a one-sided and biased way, the discussions did not reflect the real situation," the statement reads.

The protesters demand that not only Armenia but also France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, stop the false propaganda that makes the people of Karabakh think that they are in a situation of "humanitarian catastrophe".

"It is unacceptable that Armenia and France, unilaterally abuse this platform, mislead the international community, and engage in dirty propaganda. Such unwanted attempts do not serve to achieve sustainable peace in the region, but, on the contrary, exacerbate the situation. Criminal dealers and a number of war criminals in Armenia and Karabakh deliberately turn the local population into hostages of their policy and do not allow them to contact the Azerbaijani side, they are trying to create an atmosphere of an artificial 'humanitarian catastrophe'," the statement added.

In the statement, the participants in the peaceful rally also emphasized their disagreement with Armenia's claim on Azerbaijani lands announced at the meeting of the UN Security Council. The purpose of the action on the Khankandi-Shusha road was also re-emphasized. The protesters again remind about exclusively peaceful purposes and demanded to stop the eco-terror on the Azerbaijani lands liberated from occupation.

"At the same time, the completely unfounded claims of Armenia to the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan, voiced in the UN Security Council, are unacceptable, and such an approach contradicts the basic principles of the Security Council. We reaffirm that the protest action is peaceful, and representatives of civil society are chanting slogans about stopping the plunder of Azerbaijani natural resources and are against causing irreparable damage to the environment. Ignoring our legitimate concern during the discussions in the UN Security Council, we regard as disrespectful, biased attitude and selective approach to civil society," the protesters noted.

They also recalled with regret the 30-year-long occupation and the Khojaly genocide, to which the entire world community turned a blind eye. They called the UN Security Council hostage to double standards.

"We want to stress with regret that the UN Security Council, as the main body responsible for protecting peace and security in the world, turned a blind eye to the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia for 30 years, the policy of ethnic cleansing, the Khojaly genocide, the expulsion of more than 1 million Azerbaijanis from their homeland, for the purposeful destruction and looting of the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people, the policy of illegal settlement, and did not take any steps to implement the resolutions adopted by it. It is regrettable that the UN Security Council has become a hostage to the policy of double standards," they added.

Azerbaijani NGO representatives demand that the world community pay attention to the unimpeded movement of vehicles along the road, which the Armenian government called blocked.

"From the information provided by the media and individual users of social networks from the venue of the protest action, it is clear that vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo, passengers, as well as ambulances and other humanitarian vehicles can move freely, and for this, the participants of the action create all conditions. A hotline was also created by NGOs to promptly resolve the humanitarian problems of residents of Armenian origin living in the Karabakh region of our country. Therefore, there are no grounds for allegations that residents of Armenian origin are allegedly under 'blockade'.

As participants in the protest action, we are demanding an end to the use of the Lachin road for military purposes, as well as the looting and removal of our natural resources from the country. The Lachin-Shusha-Khankandi road is the sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan," they said.

Azerbaijanis also stated that they strongly oppose Armenia's obstacles to the reintegration of Armenians in Azerbaijan.

"We also strongly oppose the fact that the Armenian authorities, illegal Armenian armed groups in the territories of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed, threaten residents of Armenian origin and try in every way possible to prevent their reintegration into Azerbaijan. We invite residents of Armenian origin to peaceful coexistence. As representatives of civil society, we reiterate that we are ready to mobilize all our resources to address the humanitarian problems of our citizens of Armenian origin living in Karabakh," the statement concluded.