Spanish, Argentinian, Swiss media report on environmental protest near Shusha city PHOTO

Several foreign news agencies have provided coverage of the ongoing protests held by environmentalists on the Lachin-Khankendi road which passes through the territory of Shusha city in Azerbaijan, which started on December 12.

The Spanish version of the Swiss SWI and the Argentinian news website Infobae have republished a report by the Spanish EFE news agency on this campaign.

The Spanish EFE talked to one of the protesters, Toghrul Allahverdiyev, who told them "Neither cold nor snow can stop us. If needed we will stay here for five, six months". An activist of the "Regional development" organization, Sima Melikova, told the agency that the protest is of peaceful character. "Our demand is simple: we have to stop the illegal exploitation of resources from our country, from the 'Gizilbulag' and 'Demirli' deposits".

They also talked to a representative of the ministry of environment and natural resources, Amin Mammadov, who emphasized that the exploitation from mines rich with gold, copper and molybdenum is also causing environmental damage to the region, which is legally recognized as an integral part of Azerbaijan.

The Spanish media also pointed to the fact, that environmental activists started the peaceful protest on December 12 on the Lachin-Khankendi road due to the Russian peacekeeping contingent's inability to guarantee access to Azerbaijani specialists to the mines that are located in that region and are being illegally exploited by Armenia. The protest is not only aimed at bringing attention to the plundering of Azerbaijan's natural resources, but also to the damage caused to the environment due to the exploitation disregarding norms of environmental security.

The news article also reports on the camps set up by the demonstrators on the road, close to the city of Shusha and an approx. 10 km away from Khankendi. They raise posters with slogans such as "End to environmental crimes!", "Azerbaijan is united, it owns its resources!", "We will protect the environment, punish the exploitation!" in Russian and English language. It also reports that the protesters only permit vehicles belonging to the Russian peacekeepers, the Red Cross and medical services that carry sick people to Armenia to pass through the road. Allahverdiyev told EFE, "The road is open for peaceful Armenians living in Karabakh, we don't have anything against them. Once they again become citizens of Azerbaijan, we will live in peace. They will be able to live much better".