SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, December 14. The peaceful protests near Shusha, close to Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment area, have been going on for three days, Azerbaijani protester Aytan Huseynaliyeva told Trend correspondent in Shusha on December 14.
The rally's primary objective is to stop the illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan's natural resources by Armenia and create necessary conditions for the environmental monitoring group.
She noted that peaceful protesters are ready to ensure the passage of Armenian civilian cars and ambulances.
"Phone numbers of the rally participants are listed on the internet. They can be contacted if someone is seriously ill, but such information hasn't been received as of yet," Huseynaliyeva said.
Representatives of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been protesting near Shusha, close to the Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment area. The protest is being held against the inadmissibility of Azerbaijani specialists to the territory, to monitor the illicit exploitation of the country's mineral resources.
Previously, following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC were going to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, on December 10, 2022.
The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli' copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as well as to underground and surface water sources.
However, when arriving in the monitoring area, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, faced provocations. The planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place due to the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create necessary conditions and prevented for the entire process to carry on.