SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, December 12. Representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of Azerbaijan continue the protest action near the city of Shusha, close to the post of Russian peacekeepers temporarily stationed there, Trend reports from the scene, on December 12.
“Our national wealth is being plundered and exploited,” Chairman of the Environmental Education and Monitoring Public Association Hamza Yusubova taking part in the event said.
"Today we are holding a rally here and asking the commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces, Major General Andrey Volkov, to come to us and comment on the situation. However, Volkov hasn’t yet arrived. We won’t leave here until he arrives and answers our questions,” she noted.
The action is being held against the inadmissibility of Azerbaijani specialists to the territory, to monitor the illegal exploitation of Azerbaijani deposits in the area.
Following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Service on Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC planned to begin preliminary monitoring over the illegal mining, as well as emerging environmental and other implications on its territories on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, from December 10, 2022.
The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli' copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as well as to underground and surface water sources.
However, despite the group's arrival in the monitoring area, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, it faced provocations. Thus, the planned initial inspection and monitoring didn’t take place due to the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only didn’t create the necessary conditions but also deliberately sabotaged the process.