Azerbaijanis' tenacity on battlefield and Lachin road Youth raised in patriotic spirit

More than a month has passed since the beginning of a protest by Azerbaijani eco-activists on the Lachin road, which fully demonstrated the unshakable tenacity and unbreakable unity of Azerbaijan's civil society. Despite the frosts and despite the malice of our country's all ill-wishers, the protest never stops for a day or an hour. Protesting against the plundering of Karabakh's natural resources, our activists are steadfast and determined to see all of their demands met, even in the January cold. These faithful people are the young boys and girls who arrived in Karabakh from different parts of Azerbaijan.

Eco-activists and NGO representatives insist on monitoring the Gizilbulag and Damirli gold and copper-molybdenum mines in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, but Armenian propaganda has inflated this peaceful action into an "operation" against Armenians living in the region in order to arrange a "humanitarian" crisis in Khankendi. This Armenian lie, however, did not work and did not garner widespread support and sympathy from the international community, through the lobbying efforts Yerevan and the Diaspora abroad really sought this. At the same time, the governments of the world's leading countries and international organizations, including the UN, are patiently listening to the Armenians and are not in a rush to declare the illegality of the plundering of Azerbaijani minerals by the Moscow financial businessman [Ruben] Vardanyan and his team. However, everything is still ahead – the time will come, and the Azerbaijani land robbers will get what they deserve for everything.

On January 10, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev described in detail the situation on the Lachin road in his interview with local TV channels, touching upon Armenian fakes on this topic. The head of state stressed that it is shameless to call the events taking place on the Lachin-Khankendi road a "blockade" since almost 400 trucks of [Russian]peacekeepers passed along the road during the protest.

"Of course, all the vehicles that passed there, even before this rally, were monitored by us. Else how did we learn that Iranian vehicles were delivering fuel there? We registered it there. However, the Iranian side tried to deny it. They even tried to deceive us in a primitive manner by attaching fake Armenian license plates on Iranian vehicles," President Aliyev said.

The president also clearly outlined the priorities of the eco-activists, pointing out that their goal, like the goal of the whole of Azerbaijan, is by no means a blockade and all the conditions put forward are absolutely fair. "Monitoring, inspection and an end to illegal exploitation are necessary, and we will achieve that," he said, thus exposing the attempts of the Vardanyan gang to plunder the riches of Karabakh freely.

The endurance of young Azerbaijanis, and the protesters, is amazing. There are also the first results: it is known that Vardanyan and his clan, frightened by the action, suspended work at the mines. The theft was too obvious.

President Aliyev particularly noted young people's resolute attitude and civic courage in his interview. According to him, the young people, who gathered on the Lachin-Khankendi road are "a source of our pride".

"They have been there day and night in freezing and snowy weather, demanding their rights and showing the whole world the high moral qualities of the Azerbaijani youth. The separatists, as they say, are one step away from them, are spreading absolutely false information in the world," President Aliyev said.

The tenacity and power of young eco-activists' spirit is a real challenge for all our ill-wishers - especially when you consider how Armenia is attempting to imitate such tactics. Many people will probably remember how the Vardanyan propaganda team, disguised as Khankendi civilians, declared their intention to hold a counter rally on the Lachin road with the demand to "lift" the blockade. Russian peacekeepers barred Armenians from visiting Azerbaijani eco-activists, but this appears to have been a good lesson for them to forget their statements. But, it appears, it makes no difference where protests are held - a little closer or a little further from the Russian peacekeepers' checkpoint. A small group of Armenians from Khankendi even managed to meet with Russian peacekeepers, but after freezing, they left - the end of Armenian heroism. The Armenians' enthusiasm was apparently dashed by the Karabakh frosts. It is much easier to vote and declare a fictitious "blockade" when you are warm and safe, well-fed and satisfied.

Of course, our young generation's incredible courage, self-confidence, love for our homeland, and willingness to self-sacrifice extend far beyond the Lachin road action. What is the heroism of young Azerbaijani soldiers worth during the 44-day war - after all, it was their unwavering faith in victory, selfless bravery, and courage that proved decisive on the battlefields with the Armenian occupiers. Who quickly faltered and fled. Fear has big eyes: a pathetic excuse for Armenian soldiers in the days of battles was stories about "iron soldiers" who go into battle, not paying attention to bullets or deadly mortar fire, and even continue to fight wounded. The Armenian battalions fled the battlefield very quickly after hearing such stories, barely seeing our soldiers on the horizon.

In his speech to military personnel in Shusha on November 8, 2021, on the anniversary of the Victory, President Aliyev spoke about the achievements of Azerbaijani soldiers and the importance of educating a new generation capable of resisting the enemy. According to him, the key to victory was the upbringing of the younger generation.

"We were well aware that weapons, ammunition, a powerful economy, success in the international arena, all other factors will not matter if our citizens do not demonstrate their strength in the fight for the land, for the Motherland. Paying great attention to educational work, we have brought up young people in the spirit of patriotism," the president stressed then.

"Young people raised in the spirit of patriotism, sacrificing their lives, at the cost of their blood, were able to take away our sacred lands from the enemy," he said.

Reflecting on the words of the president, watching the selfless civic position of our youth protesting in the cold on the Lachin road, you understand: only with such an active, young society tuned to transformation and change, you can confidently move on, qualitatively improving our reality.