Inherit and disown The logic of the ICRC in the South Caucasus

As soon as Baku restored traffic through the Lachin border checkpoint, Armenia did something again that the checkpoint had to be closed again. This time, when we say "the Armenian side", we mean the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The exaggeration is small, because, first, the Armenian delegates of the ICRC were caught in the offense, and second, this international organization has been doing well in the interests of Yerevan for so long that it may well add the word “Armenian” to its name.

So, the Azerbaijani State Border Service has published a list of incidents that occurred during the first ten days of July, namely on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th, during which employees of this organization were caught red-handed four times while trying to smuggle goods into the territory of Azerbaijan through the border checkpoint - mobile phones, cigarettes, fuel.

The list of smuggled goods, as you can see, is not so long, but there are questions for the ICRC and big ones.

First, whatever is imported into the territory of Azerbaijan, from cigarettes to cars, must be declared, otherwise, there is a violation of the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In addition, customs duties are not levied on undeclared goods, and in this way, the ICRC contributes to economic crimes against Azerbaijan.

Second, which is no less serious, no one can claim that with such an approach, weapons and ammunition were not imported into Karabakh under the cover of the Red Cross during the previous months. This could happen as a result of simple negligence of management - say, an Armenian driver transports cargo at his peril and risk, or on the tacit instructions of the leadership. Thankfully, there are serious suspicions of hostile, in particular, intelligence activities of the ICRC against the Azerbaijani army during the 44-day war.

But even though this is important, it is also only part of the problem. The main question remains in all its nudity and sharpness - why on earth the activities of the ICRC in the zone of temporary responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent (RPC) in the territory of Azerbaijan are coordinated by the Yerevan office, while the organization has its own representative office in Baku? If during the occupation the actual front line impeded logistics, then what barriers are there now when the frontline has been sent to hell by the Azerbaijani army following the status quo? What excuses will the Red Cross come up with to continue the policy of ignoring the sovereignty of Azerbaijan?

By the way, the editorial office of Caliber.Az has already asked similar questions and even received a letter from the ICRC, which contained everything - from a bold copy-paste, of the organization's charter to melodramatic comments on it, but not an answer to the question asked.

However, now the time for questions on our part has passed. And those that are voiced above can be considered rhetorical. In any case, the ICRC will most likely be confronted with a fact - from now on, all transport to the zone of temporary responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh will go through Aghdam. This means that the coordination of relevant activities will be carried out from Baku. The Yerevan office, on the other hand, seems to be expecting a reduction, especially since the ICRC team working in Karabakh is replete with citizens of countries unfriendly to Azerbaijan. Accordingly, the hopes that these people will receive accreditation in Baku are equal to zero. "We sympathize" and "worry."

Meanwhile, not only the Azerbaijani media raised the issue of the functioning of the ICRC in the territory of Azerbaijan. Several times this issue was discussed with the leaders of this organization with the participation of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. Moreover, the latest such meeting took place no later than at the end of June: Bayramov spoke with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan, Dragana Kojic, and Baku, as a gesture of goodwill, allowed ICRC vehicles to use the Lachin border checkpoint for medical purposes. However, for cargoes of other transport, the Aghdam-Khankandi route was proposed.

Apparently, the ICRC did not appreciate this gesture and now it will have to finally say goodbye to the road to the beloved Goris. By the way, Baku has repeatedly warned the ICRC about violations, including those related to the transport of prohibited goods, but no measures were taken by the organization.

Well, in this case, Baku will take action.

P.S. While the material was being prepared, a response came from the ICRC over the latest incidents. It turns out that the drivers, from whom “commercial goods” was found (that is, contraband) worked under contracts for the provision of services. And the emblem of the Red Cross was applied to their cars temporarily! In general, the ICRC itself, as it were, has nothing to do with it ...

Here is such an awkward attempt by the Red Cross to divert blame from itself... That is, the ICRC has officially admitted that it is not fully responsible for the security of objects that, on its instructions, use its emblem.

How to work with all this? The following is clearly visible - if the ICRC wants to save its reputation, it needs to listen to Baku more often.