Armenian frontier guards drive Azerbaijanis out of Georgia

By cleansing Armenia from Azerbaijanis, driving them out of Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions during an armed aggression, in the last several years the frontier Guards of Armenia conduct creepening annexion of the territory of Georgian Marneuli, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis in a wish to drive Azerbaijanis out of Georgia.

The occupation of forests, pastures and threat of occupation of sown areas near Sadakhlo settlement and surrounding small villages, primarily inhabited by Azerbaijanis, by Armenians, will lead to their driving out of their native lands, leaving everything to Armenians.

This creeping aggression of Georgian lands, inhabited by ethnic Azerbaijanis, by Armenians continues for the past 5-6 years under the complete support of both local and central authorities of Georgia.

When I heard about it from my friend-a resident of Sadakhlo village, I decided to go there and learn the details on the spot.

The road to Sadakhlo from Tbilisi passes the regional center of Maneuli and it took me no more than an hour to get there.

Sadakhlo differs from other villages only by its parameters-this is the largest village in Marneuli. It became famous not only in Georgia but in the whole South Caucasus region due to a big open market, locating there. The village has a favorite location: not so far from the Georgian-Armenian border and just near the border with Azerbaijan.

The location of this village and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border encouraged creation of a regional market in this Azerbaijani village, locating in Georgia. In the result, the population of the village lived not more at the cost of trade rather than agriculture. This led to the rapid growth in the population of the village. On the pick of its development the village accounted for nearly 15,000 residents.

But after Saakashvili came to power in Georgia, the regional market in Sadakhlo was shutdown to combat smuggle. The shutdown odf the market affected the villagers, as they lost their main source of income. This resulted in impoverishment of residents and gradual outflow of the population. Currently, Sadakhlo accounts for less than 10,000 people.

Additional negative effect from the market shutdown was due to the fact that about 500residents of the village, engaged in market commerce, borrowed large credits in ProCredit bank for the development of their business, but the sudden shutdown of the market led to their backruptcy as they were not able to pay the credits, taken under high interest rates.

The village residents was offended by the fact that soon after the shutdown of the market in Sadakhlo, similar market opened near Sadakhlo village in Armenia. And now, in order to trade, Azerbaijanis are obliged to pass the Armenian border sometimes risking their lives. Even now, by some different estimates, from 800 to 100 people pass the Georgian-Armenian border to trade on this market. Then they arrive in Baku to purchase all necessary things for their further sale in Armenia. Being able to move freely both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia, they are a good target for the Armenian intelligence services and a headache for the local special forces.

Immediately upon my arrival to Sadakhlo I was met by a local resident, activist of the nongovernmental sector and opposition Republican party Sabir Mehtiyev. He brought me to the village suburb, to a hill, where the surrounding area can be viewed.

He said previously the border between Georgia and Armenia passed on the top of the hills. "The old people remember that in the Soviet times, the border on the tops of the hills was market by black coal", said he.

Today, Armenians have came down from the hills and occupied the Georgian lands. According to him, on the occupied Georgian lands, Armenians have already built a cassern with well equipped gun embrasure. Along with soldiers, 3 tanks and 2 armored carriers are often seen there.

Mehtiyev notes the fact that Armenian frontier guards are well armed and they have trained dogs, while there is not a single frontier guard from the Georgian side.

In the result, making use of the impunity from the Georgian side, Armenian frontier guards passed the border to the sown area, where Azerbaijanis work.

"Thefore, the villagers are adrain of sowing in this land. Our women are afraid of going to the field to wor, faring of the attacks of the Armenian frontier guards. In the result, we do not know how to feed in winter", he said.

As is seen, Armenian frontier guards have no problems with food, as they have helpless village shepherds, from whom they can take sheep and horses, being not afraid of revenge.

Local residents started to approach us during the conversation. They also expressed resentment about the behavior of Armenian frontier guards.

Shepherd Ali, 23 years old, from a small village Khudarya, neighboring Sadakhlo, confirmed Mehtiyev's words that Armenian frontier guards, do not allow shephers to tends herds where they did last year.

"Sometimes Armenians comes with guns and take sheep. And what can I do if I have only a stick", said Ali, waving with his only gun-a long thin stick, which would not scare a dog, not speaking of a soldier with a gun in his hands.

"Our only source of living is cattle-breeding. If Armenians continue to occupy our lands, we will not be able to undertake cattle-breeding and will lose source of income", said the resident of the same village Aladdin Madinayev, 66.

He said there is a big school garden in the village-5 hectares and previously one could walk and gather flowers there. Now the village residents are worried about their children and do not allow them go there due to the Armenian frontier guards.

"Moreover, our source of fresh water is also on the land, occupied by Armenians and they do not allow us to go there. It is terrible to live this way.

Our ancestors lived on these lands. But Armenians came, occupied these lands and say they belong to them. We can not prove them anything. We can not prove that milk is white", said Madinayev.

Moreover, the residends of the adjacents areas, which suffered from Armenian frontier guards, told me that Armenians intend to take the sown areas and pastures to them. They have already warned people that this is the last year they may work om these fields.

The residents also told me that Armenians need a road to contact Armenia. Armenians carried all necessary building materials for the casserne construction by the road via Sadakhlo. Therefore local residents fear that they also may occupy the whole village. Where will local Azerbaijanis live then?

"We ask Georgian powers to send people there to clarify the situation on the spot and define the border so that we know where we can tend our herd and work on the fields and where we can not", the local residents told me. Saying farewell to them, WE return to Sadakhlo with Sabir and I got interested with the life of the village and other problems of its residents.

Thus according to the representative of the republican party in Sadakhlo Khidir Nazarov, there is a deficit of fresh and irrigation water in the village.

"Of 1,200 hectares of lands only 50 are irrigational. AS for the fresh water, there is the only artesian well with an electric engine, pumping water. But this water is not enough and it is too expensive.

There is a problem with wood. We previously took them in the forests, but now Armenians do not let us go there. So we have to purchase it, though it is too expensive-GEL 400 per a car.

As for new broadcasting in Azerbaijani, there is not enough information. News are transmitted once a day by the state TV channel amidst the work day-16:00, when not all have a chance to watch them. The news last for half an hour, but real news are transmitted for only five minutes. This is obviously not enough.

According to other residents of the village, to whom I spoke, local powers treat the Azerbaijanis negatively and commit sabotage about the execution of the presidential decree about distribution of a package of flour and 20 liter canister of gasoline per family among the population. Only half of the families managed to get the aid, which is issued not completely. For example, there are 17 liters in the canister instead of 20 liters.

After Sadakhlo we went to the neighbor village Mollaoghlu, where there is a big problem with school. The problem is in the terrible state of the school. It can collapse every minute. According to the head of the school Mahmud Nasibov, executive powders of the region promised to allot necessary funds for construction of a new school. But these promises are voiced for several years and the school administration is tired to hope for its execution.

Another problem is the cable of energy distribution lines, hanging just above the school roof, less than a meter from it. Any time, the column may crash down and cable, falling on the school roof, may lead to tragedy. By the way, the school accounts for 226 pupils and 28 teachers.

Due to the need to prevent possible tragedy, the school administration appealed for help to the region administration and local electric distribution campaign more than once but received no response yet. While pupils are obliged to go to school with a risk for their lives.

/Day.Az/