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PACE can’t ignore the problems of Nagorno-Karabakh and the sufferings of the ordinary people who are facing the shortage of water from the reservoir controlled by Armenia, said Milica Markovic, the PACE rapporteur and the author of a report titled “Deliberate deprivation of the residents of border regions of Azerbaijan of water”.
“The matter rests in the population of the Council of Europe and the OSCE member-state and the humanitarian and social problems concerning us directly,” she said, addressing the PACE session in Strasbourg.
“The problem of providing the Azerbaijani population with drinking water is very important,” she said. “Despite the Azerbaijani authorities’ all efforts to provide the population with drinking water, it is not enough for irrigation.”
She said that the Armenian side has refused from cooperation on the issue.
Sarsang reservoir was built to provide residents with water and irrigate agriculture in the border areas. But after the occupation of these lands, Armenia uses this reservoir as a tool of humanitarian and ecological terror. In winter, the Armenian side intentionally opens the floodgates and creates conditions for flooding the surrounding areas. In summer, Armenia does not allow its using. As a result, there are serious problems in providing people with water, irrigating agriculture and preserving biodiversity.
She said that the use of water, according to the international conventions, is an integral part of human rights.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council’s four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Trend.az
