Fear has many eyes: Armenians mistake Azerbaijani environmentalists for "special forces"
Nature-loving masterclass

ANALYTICS  06 December 2022 - 10:27

Last week was marked by a sensational event for the public in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Although, admittedly, the simplest domestic situation was exaggerated to an "event" by the Armenian side. For Azerbaijan, it was a standard procedure, carried out for decades by state agencies. Such a procedure with the same functions probably exists in Armenia as well.

The thing is that after the hard-hitting publication of Caliber.Az titled "Gold business of Armenian self-proclaimed 'minister of state', Russian general in Karabakh" which referred to the predatory looting by separatists and the leadership of the RPC of Azerbaijan's natural resources in the Karabakh region, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan sent a group of specialists to the RPC zone in Karabakh.

On December 3, 2022, at about 11:00 the staff of the Ministry of Ecology, State Service of Property Affairs of the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC approached the checkpoint of Russian peacekeeping forces between Khankendi and Shusha to enter the territory of the interest. And they did get there, that is, into the area temporarily controlled by the RPC, but only after three hours of bickering, despite the full legality of their actions. Then they visited the peacekeepers' headquarters, where they explained the problem to the peacekeepers' command, expressing their concern and informing about the indignation of Azerbaijani state bodies and the public with the fact that the economic activity is carried out illegally in the territory of the republic - the mineral deposits are exploited barbarously, which causes irreparable harm to the ecology. At the meeting in the HQ, Azerbaijani ecologists and other experts stressed the necessity of monitoring the development and inventory of the property at the mines, and ecological expertise. That is, Azerbaijan demands to stop the ecological terror in its territory, which is in the zone of temporary responsibility of the RPC with the participation of its experts. The peacekeepers' command did not object.

However, Armenians living here, especially, of course, the authorities of various kinds of separatist illegal structures did not like the appearance of a group of Azerbaijanis in this area. In an instant, environmentalists turned into "special forces", and the forced delay of transport on the Lachin road is nothing less than "genocide".

Naturally, negotiations with the command of peacekeepers took some time, and in those three hours, the Russian military decided to suspend passage along the road. Since the Lachin road is usually used by Armenians, panic gripped them as to how communication with Armenia would now take place. After standing at the checkpoint for several hours, they immediately concluded that Azerbaijan had cut off Armenians living in Karabakh from their "historical homeland". Nevertheless, after a few hours, the checkpoint worked as usual and the traffic jam disappeared, the word about the "lawlessness" of the Azerbaijani "special forces" who committed "genocide" in the region of Khankendi, which they call "Stepanakert", spread among Armenians. And although everyone soon drove unhindered along the Lachin road, built, by the way, by Azerbaijan, the hysterical cries of the separatists, as well as of Yerevan and diaspora activists, are heard to this day.

Everywhere, Armenians faint in hysteria, like myotonic goats, with the word "genocide" frozen on their lips. That, in any case, is how the tragic picture is described in the Armenian segment of social networks. Although looking closely at the photos, one can clearly see that the shots with "Azerbaijani special troops" display ordinary experts of the Ministry of Ecology, purely civilian people. The characteristic feature is that many of them have mustaches and beards. And who, one may ask, would allow soldiers to take such liberties contrary to the army regulations?

In general, everyone in Azerbaijan is at a loss – what prompted the Armenians to panic so much? The visit of specialists in natural resources and their extraction to their ancestral land with an inspection? And what will happen and what rumors will start to be spread when employees of Azəriqaz, Azərişıq, and Azərsu public utilities knock on the door to the Armenians living in the territory of Karabakh? Will they fall into a lethargic sleep? Anyway, they say, "special forces plumbers" or "special forces electricians" will not leave them alive... However, it is worth admitting that, unlike peace-loving environmentalists, these guys will not only block the movement but also eliminate the communal paradise with free water and gas.

These are only three state structures with which the Armenians living under the temporary supervision of Russian peacekeepers in the Azerbaijani lands will soon have to get acquainted.

In short, let Armenians have no doubt that Baku will carry out systematic and purposeful plans for the development of Karabakh, and all its territories without exception, it has all means for this. If necessary, the Lachin road will be stopped not for a couple of hours but forever and no snot-nosed whispers-threats will help. So, instead of spreading nonsense rumors, so that they would be spared and Baku would be threatened, the Armenian population of Karabakh should start learning the official language, history, and anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan before it's too late.

Finally, still peaceful advice to Armenians living in Karabakh and visiting there from Yerevan: "Take care of mother nature!", otherwise the visits of employees of the Ministry of Ecology and other Azerbaijani agencies to the zone of temporary responsibility of the RPC will become more frequent and less humane.

Caliber.Az