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CONFERENCE ON IMMINENT FAILURE OF MASSIVE SARSANG RESERVOIR TO BE HELD IN SEPTEMBER
Sacramento Bee, CA
Aug 21 2013
By Azerbaijan Monitor
Azerbaijan Monitor
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 21, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ --
Academics, political leaders and journalists from across the globe
will gather in Tartar, Azerbaijan, in early September to discuss
the condition of the Sarsang reservoir in the Nagorno-Karabakh
region, according to Elkhan Suleymanov, an Azerbaijani Member of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Armenia's use of the dam has exacerbated the situation in
Nagorno-Karabakh and other Azerbaijani territories, occupied by
Armenia since the cessation of the war between the two countries nearly
two decades ago. The dam itself has been under Armenian control for
22 years.
In an interview with the Azerbaijan Press Agency, Suleymanov pointed
out that Armenia's management of the reservoir has already created an
ongoing crisis, eroding roads in nearby provinces when it is opened
in the winter, and drying out surrounding farmland when it is closed
in the summer. Yet because of Armenia's occupation of the region,
the danger of this unfolding humanitarian tragedy has only recently
come to light.
The 125-meter dam was built by Soviet engineers in 1976, and according
to independent experts, is in urgent need of repair following two
decades of neglect by Armenia. Those same experts predict that should
the reservoir fail, the 65-meter wall of water that would follow poses
a "catastrophic" threat to the 400,000 people who live downstream,
whom Suleymanov described as the real "hostages" of the situation.
"The Sarsang reservoir has become a serious threat to Azerbaijan;
this threat is becoming very real," Suleymanov said.
The conference will feature independent experts who will discuss
the dam's danger of imminent failure, the repairs needed, and the
consequences of failing to act.
Suleymanov noted that the purpose of the conference in September
is to raise international awareness of the status of the reservoir,
as well as the humanitarian and ecological dimensions to this latest
tragedy resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The ultimate
goal, he added, is to prompt international action to this potential
crisis before it manifests, and if that fails, to prepare relief for
the catastrophe when it happens.
Despite resolutions in the United Nations, the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe, the Organization of Security and Cooperation
in Europe, and the European Parliament, Armenia still occupies 20
percent of Azerbaijani territory, a conflict that has displaced over
one million Azerbaijanis.
SOURCE Azerbaijan Monitor
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/21/5668104/conference-on-imminent-failure.html
Sacramento Bee, CA
Aug 21 2013
By Azerbaijan Monitor
Azerbaijan Monitor
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 21, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ --
Academics, political leaders and journalists from across the globe
will gather in Tartar, Azerbaijan, in early September to discuss
the condition of the Sarsang reservoir in the Nagorno-Karabakh
region, according to Elkhan Suleymanov, an Azerbaijani Member of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Armenia's use of the dam has exacerbated the situation in
Nagorno-Karabakh and other Azerbaijani territories, occupied by
Armenia since the cessation of the war between the two countries nearly
two decades ago. The dam itself has been under Armenian control for
22 years.
In an interview with the Azerbaijan Press Agency, Suleymanov pointed
out that Armenia's management of the reservoir has already created an
ongoing crisis, eroding roads in nearby provinces when it is opened
in the winter, and drying out surrounding farmland when it is closed
in the summer. Yet because of Armenia's occupation of the region,
the danger of this unfolding humanitarian tragedy has only recently
come to light.
The 125-meter dam was built by Soviet engineers in 1976, and according
to independent experts, is in urgent need of repair following two
decades of neglect by Armenia. Those same experts predict that should
the reservoir fail, the 65-meter wall of water that would follow poses
a "catastrophic" threat to the 400,000 people who live downstream,
whom Suleymanov described as the real "hostages" of the situation.
"The Sarsang reservoir has become a serious threat to Azerbaijan;
this threat is becoming very real," Suleymanov said.
The conference will feature independent experts who will discuss
the dam's danger of imminent failure, the repairs needed, and the
consequences of failing to act.
Suleymanov noted that the purpose of the conference in September
is to raise international awareness of the status of the reservoir,
as well as the humanitarian and ecological dimensions to this latest
tragedy resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The ultimate
goal, he added, is to prompt international action to this potential
crisis before it manifests, and if that fails, to prepare relief for
the catastrophe when it happens.
Despite resolutions in the United Nations, the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe, the Organization of Security and Cooperation
in Europe, and the European Parliament, Armenia still occupies 20
percent of Azerbaijani territory, a conflict that has displaced over
one million Azerbaijanis.
SOURCE Azerbaijan Monitor
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/21/5668104/conference-on-imminent-failure.html