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Vardanyan and Harutyunyan in illusory pursuit of "golden calf" - review

Politics Materials 15 December 2022 20:45 (UTC +04:00)
Vardanyan and Harutyunyan in illusory pursuit of "golden calf" - review
Parvin Mirzazade
Parvin Mirzazade
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 15. It is well known that the action by representatives of Azerbaijani non-governmental environmental organizations in the region of the town of Shusha, which resulted in the blocking of traffic along the Lachin corridor by Russian peacekeepers temporarily deployed in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan under the pretext of "ensuring security", is continuing for the third day, Parvin Mirzazade, Ambassador-at-Large of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said in his latest article, Trend reports December 15.

The aim of the action was to demand that the peacekeepers stop the criminal development of the Gizilbulag and Demirli deposits by the Armenian side and the export of illegally mined gold, copper and molybdenum abroad. The Armenian separatists have been plundering these deposits in Azerbaijan for decades as a result of illegal activities.

For many years, the Armenian side illegally obtained significant funds from the exploitation of these deposits. However, after the end of the Second Karabakh War, when Armenia lost most of its occupied Azerbaijani territories, which generated significant income, they increased production from these mines.

With the connivance of the peacekeepers' command, the separatist authorities exported the mined ore to Armenia, where gold, copper and molybdenum were extracted after processing and enrichment at Armenian enterprises and then sold abroad under the name of mines allegedly produced in Armenian mines, in violation of international law. Since the illegal trade of gold and other precious metals generated high profits for both Armenia and its foreign patrons, it seems natural that they cling to this business as their "motherland".

For the record: those who turn a blind eye to the illegal extraction of gold and other minerals on the territory of Azerbaijan, where peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, should know that such trade is contrary to international law and is a criminal offense falling under the category of serious offenses such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking and "blood diamonds". Therefore, international traders of illegally mined gold in Africa and other third-world countries cannot sell their goods on the exchange and are forced to trade them secretly, on the black market, at prices far below the world price, being constantly under the radar of Interpol.

So, by creating all conditions for the processing of illegally exported gold from the Karabakh region to Armenian factories, official Yerevan participates in international gold smuggling and thus ranks itself as an international smuggler subject to criminal prosecution. It is no secret that this gold is marked with the Armenian brand and sold at commodity exchanges under the pretext of being mined in Armenia.

It should be particularly noted that the extraction of gold and other metals in these mines is carried out by the Armenian side with barbaric methods, without observing any environmental norms, which leads to the pollution of soil and water resources, causing huge damage to the environment. In the aftermath of the First Karabakh War, Azerbaijan was unable to provide the international community with solid evidence of the plundering of natural resources in the occupied territories due to the lack of objective controls and the remoteness of this territory from the forward positions of the Azerbaijani army. After the end of the Second Karabakh War and the liberation of most of the occupied territories, the Azerbaijani authorities were able to assess in real-time and visually the scale of the illegal works being carried out in these fields, as well as to calculate the volume of foreign exported rock.

Despite repeated warnings from the Azerbaijani side about the illegal exploitation of these fields, the peacekeepers' command was not able to stop mining there. It is noteworthy that during the occupation, the Armenian side barbarically plundered the natural resources of Azerbaijan, and, in violation of all international conventions, mined gold and other minerals in the occupied territories, using the revenues from them for military purposes.

A striking example of this is the exploitation of the Zod gold field in the Kalbajar region, one of the largest in the region, which was illegally transferred by Armenia to a foreign company to be exploited, bringing fabulous profits. Unfortunately, neither the co-chairs of the now deceased OSCE Minsk Group nor international organizations responded to numerous appeals of Azerbaijan to end this blatant robbery of natural resources, pretending not to notice it or limiting themselves to reservations, such as "we noted and will bring it to the Armenian side".

Azerbaijan has repeatedly demanded that international mediators and organizations take effective measures to stop these illegal activities, but nothing concrete has been done in this direction. The Armenian side was also not deterred by the fact that back in 1997 Azerbaijan had signed an agreement with an American company to manage and develop many gold deposits, including those in the occupied territories, which effectively meant that the Armenian occupation authorities were engaged in an open conflict with a third party. However, the Armenian side and its pocket companies ignored all the legitimate demands of both the Azerbaijani authorities and the American company, hoping that this occupation is forever and no one will kick them out.

However, as the saying goes: “Man supposes and God disposes of”, Armenia's defeat and capitulation in the Second Karabakh War put everything in its place. The Zod mine and some others were returned to their real master - Azerbaijan, and the companies ignoring the legal requirements and acting illegally will soon go to international arbitration courts in the suit of an American company, which will demand compensation for material and moral damages for all years of the illegal exploitation of these mines.

As for the latest developments, after one of the leaders of the separatists was a fugitive Russian oligarch-billionaire Vardanyan, who was sent to Karabakh to save his capital from the Western sanctions and to prevent the possible reconciliation and dialogue between the two peoples, the situation there has sharply deteriorated.

Vardanyan, who has never had anything to do with the Armenian population of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan at all (being a native of Armenia who has lived in Moscow all his life), has arrived there with far-reaching plans - to make the leap to Yerevan. To do so Rubik is even prepared to spend a little money to boost his image among the Armenian population, acting as a kind of "savior" of the nation. But everybody knows Vardanyan's natural greed, stinginess, and avarice (especially in Moscow) and he is not going to spend his "blood money" billions stolen from the Russian people, even on compatriots.

Since he wants to be the near future "master" of his own small country which has international recognition, in contrast to Karabakh, which is not so dear to him, he decided to save his money until better times, for which he received "high post" in the administration of separatists, gave green light to the barbaric pillaging of all natural resources on the territory where peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, not to spend it himself.

Vardanyan, who long ago belonged in prison or in a cemetery, is used to appropriate all money for himself and not to share it with anyone. So that his buddies do not get wind of this, at night he started transporting truckloads of gold-bearing ore to Armenia, with the full blessing of the peacekeepers' command, whom he obviously placated.

This situation certainly did not escape the eyes of the competent Azerbaijani authorities, who demanded that the peacekeeping command allow representatives of the relevant Azerbaijani structures (the Ministry of Ecology, the state-owned Azerigold company and independent environmental experts) to monitor the illegally exploited deposits.

The exploitation and development of such fields must be carried out in compliance with all environmental norms so as not to cause damage to the environment, with the appropriate authorization and monitoring by the authorized state structures. Since the Karabakh region is an integral part of Azerbaijani territory, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan is (according to legislation) the authorized body.

Despite the prior agreement, the peacekeepers' command did not allow Azerbaijani specialists access to the fields due to the appearance of militants of Armenian illegal groups in civilian clothes, who put on a hysterical show there and blocked access to the fields. Not only that, Vardanyan appeared there and declared that he is the main ruler there and it is necessary to negotiate with him. Although prior to Vardanyan's arrival in Karabakh, Azerbaijani environmentalists, together with their Armenian colleagues and with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, were already quietly and business-like monitoring the Sarsang reservoir, suggesting that this 'fruit' was in the region to escalate tensions.

Naturally, the Azerbaijani representatives refused to talk to Rubik, who had nothing to do with the Armenian population of the Karabakh region and were forced to go back. Having achieved a Pyrrhic victory, Rubik saw himself as the new 'Napoleon' and loudly proclaimed himself 'the sole rightful owner' of all the wealth of 'Artsakh' and retreated to his hideout with a 'triumphant' look.

But not there. Since Monday, representatives of non-governmental Azerbaijani environmental organizations (which the Armenian media are trying to pass off as disguised employees of special agencies) have held a rally in front of the Russian peacekeepers' post near the town of Shusha, located on the Lachin-Goris highway, demanding that the peacekeepers' command ensure the legitimate demands of the Azerbaijani side. Given that the peacekeepers' command does not want to spoil relations with the "influential" Rubik, instead of getting Azerbaijani representatives to visit the fields for monitoring, they could think of nothing better than to block the Lachin corridor, citing security concerns.

The main reason for "gold fever" seized by the Armenian side and their powerful patrons abroad is that in case of monitoring of illegally exploited fields by Azerbaijani specialists the truth about their disastrous ecological state will be revealed, threatening severe consequences both for the Armenian population and all inhabitants of Azerbaijan.

Interestingly, a number of Western countries and compassionate NGOs, which have made global environmental problems one of the main slogans of their policy, instead of supporting Azerbaijani demands, on the contrary, began to shed tears over the "poor Armenians" who need some gold for some obscure purpose for their livelihood. Unwilling to lose their super profits from gold mining, the separatist leaders intend to prevent Azeri representatives from gaining access there under any pretext, just to keep secret the volume of production and size of the damage caused to the nature of the region.

Vardanyan and company play on some sense of false patriotism, presenting themselves as "promoters" of the interests of the Armenian population, but in reality, they are trying to conceal the true state of affairs. Of course, the Azerbaijani side will press the peacekeeper commanders to shut down those fields and appeal to the international courts to hold the company, which was illegally involved in the development, accountable for damages. No reference to the fact that the fields are the property of some quasi-state will be taken into account, as all countries of the world (except Armenia) recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Otherwise, the Azerbaijani side reserves the right to use other effective mechanisms to bring the situation in line with Azerbaijani law.

In order to prevent this, knowing Azerbaijan's intentions and capabilities, Armenia raised a worldwide clamor, accusing the Azerbaijani side of "blockade and genocide" of the Armenian population of the Karabakh region, demanding almost the convening of the UN Security Council and sanctions. Yet everyone knows the real reasons for all this.

The double standard and "new gold rush" are provocations staged by Vardanyan, who specifically do not want peace, but wants a new small "victorious" war, where he intends to earn new billions and privatize Armenia, spitting on the ordinary citizens of Armenia, which for him is a small bargaining chip in a big game. Armenian politicians and the media continue to spread disinformation around the world that those picketing the peacekeeping post are not representatives of Azerbaijani civil society (which in their view does not exist), but members of the security services, thus proving that their mentality has not changed since the last century.

A new generation in which a high level of patriotism and civic responsibility is nurtured and developed in Azerbaijan. It is representatives of this generation who are in the vanguard of the environmental safety movement, which has become a topical issue all over the world. No speculations and rumors spread by Armenian sources can cast doubt on the existence of civil society and NGOs in Azerbaijan.

So let the Armenian political technologists try to find new excuses for the Armenian "gold rush", which will bring neither peace nor security to the Armenian population of the Karabakh region. As President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated, Karabakh is Azerbaijan and the Armenian population are our citizens, who will be guaranteed all the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of Azerbaijan. That is why neither Vardanyan nor Araik will be able to stop this process of integration into Azerbaijani society with their provocative actions, even in the illusory pursuit of the “golden calf”.

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