BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 3. The end of the
second Karabakh war in 2020, which is considered as the decisive
phase of the protracted Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, with the
military and political victory of Azerbaijan led to the fact that
the conflict has gone down in history.
However, various circles of some countries are trying to use
citizens of Armenian origin living in the Karabakh economic region
in different ways to change the new geopolitical realities in the
South Caucasus region or to maintain pressure on Baku.
Amid the expansion of dialogue mechanism between Baku and the
Armenian minority living in Karabakh, which is currently considered
an important stage of the post-conflict period, some political
steps are being taken, as well as military and terrorist actions
aimed at undermining the reintegration process and discussing the
rights and freedoms of citizens of Armenian origin.
The development agency named "We Are Our Mountains", created by
Ruben Vardanyan, who came to Karabakh to promote separatism and
turn ordinary Armenian citizens against Azerbaijan, is implementing
a number of projects in Karabakh under the guise of "humanitarian
activities" within the framework of cooperation with Armenia and
international organizations.
Among the projects listed on the agency's official website, one of
them is aimed at collecting donations for a "Davit Bek" Youth
Championship competition, which includes systematic military
training and education.
This event, called a sports competition among young people, is
planned to be held among boys and girls aged 16-18 from schools the
Azerbaijan’s Khankendi city in Karabakh. The total budget of the
competition, which is scheduled for January-May of this year, is
approximately $212,000. As reported, the purpose of the event is to
popularize military topics among young people, to ensure the
readiness of young people for combat operations and the formation
of experienced combat detachments.
Photo 1. Military training of Armenian
schoolchildren.
The preparation of local youth for separatist and terrorist
activities under the guise of military sports competition in
Karabakh, which is considered the sovereign territory of the
Republic of Azerbaijan in accordance with international law, is
unacceptable. Donations continue to be collected for the project
implemented by the "We are Our Mountains" development agency and
supported by separatists in Karabakh.
Donations can be made by bank transfer and credit card, and
although the main bank account belongs to Armenia’s AMERIABANK,
there are also correspondent banks, such as CITIBANK NA and NEW
YORK (for transfers in US dollars), RAIFFEISEN BANK INTERNATIONAL
AG and VIENNA (for transfers in euros), as well as RAIFFEISEN BANK
MOSCOW (for transfers in Russian rubles).
Photo 2. CITIBANK NA, a partner in illegal military
activities.
Photo 3. RAIFFEISEN BANK, a partner in illegal military
activities.
The participation of global foreign banks, such as CITIBANK NA and
RAIFFEISEN BANK, in financing military activities of the
separatists in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan is an
international crime. Also, what these banks are doing is a
violation of international compliance regulations and corporate
ethics. Any banking activity in the territory of Karabakh under the
jurisdiction of Azerbaijan can be carried out only on the basis of
a license issued by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. Any banking
operation that does not comply with this condition not only
contradicts the legislation of Azerbaijan, but also violates the
requirements of the Basel Accords, which reflects the prudential
rules of the international banking system. Therefore, the
Azerbaijani side considers the activities of these banks and all
persons cooperating with them in Karabakh illegal and demands a
review of their activities.
Photo 4. Training of POGA, Armenian military organization,
with schoolchildren.
Photo 5. Armenian schoolchildren at military
exercises.