The Head of the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA), Member of Milli Majlis (parliament) of Azerbaijan Elkhan Suleymanov urged the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and its members to take decisive actions on liberation of Sarsang water reservoir from Armenian occupation, Suleymanov`s appeal to the PACE President, Secretary General and PACE Bureau members said.
The ACSDA has launched the project Sarsang – prevention of humanitarian catastrophe, the appeal said.
Sarsang reservoir has been under occupation of Armenian armed forces since 1992, and consequently, those bordering provinces are deprived of opportunities to use the reservoir.
“The aggressive state opens the water from Sarsang reservoir in winter; thus, the lands are flooded, and roads erode. And in summer when people and agriculture mostly need water, they stop the water. Consequently, economy, as well as agriculture of Azerbaijan have been seriously hampered since the occupation, greenery dried, persistent processes occurred in biological structure of the land, and serious ecological tension emerged in the region,” the appeal said.
According to the appeal, the purpose of the project by ACSDA is to raise awareness both in Azerbaijani society and in international community about the status of Sarsang reservoir, possible humanitarian catastrophe, biological and ecological crisis, to achieve the adoption of relevant documents in international organisations, to prepare package of activities for the prevention of possible humanitarian catastrophe and ecological crisis.
Though PACE MPs have submitted draft documents on the occupation of territories of Azerbaijan twice in line with the rules of procedures, unfortunately, the Bureau blocked discussions of these documents, the appeal said.
Taking into account the seriousness of the problem, a new draft document on Sarsang reservoir signed by 45 MPs representing 18 European countries was submitted in PACE on June 25, 2013.
“We hope that this draft document will not repeat the fate of previous documents and the Bureau members will demonstrate that they do not neglect potential tragedy within the zone of Council of Europe,” the appeal said.
The motion on Sarsang reservoir, occupied by Armenia, with the signatures of 45 MP`s from 18 countries to be reviewed at the Bureau meeting of PACE on September 2.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council`s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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