The Nation’s Occupying, Destructive Nature

The tragedies and horrors of our recent history are engraved in our memory in such a way that the memories of them are like a film that passes before our eyes.

The Parliament of the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) made a decision on reunification with Armenia on February 20, 1988. After that, on the same day, two Azerbaijani girl students, who were doing internships in the central hospital of Khankendi, were raped by the Armenians. Two days later, the confrontation between Azerbaijanis and Armenians escalated into a shootout, during which two Azerbaijanis were killed. Some time passed... On November 15, 1988, in Shusha, the Armenians cut down a large number of trees in the Topkhana forest, which is a state reserve, and then a fire broke out in the forest, and rare trees were destroyed.

It was the destruction of Topkhana forests by the Armenians and the inaction of the then authorities regarding the actions of the Armenians that caused serious discontent among the Azerbaijani public. Two days after this event, on November 17, 1988, the Meydan movement began in Azerbaijan. The destruction of the Topkhana forests in Karabakh led to the organization of anti-Soviet rallies and actions against the central government at that time.

It should be noted that in the forests of Topkhana, which have an ancient history, there were such rare and very valuable plant species as oak, peanuts, elm and others. Topkhana's fauna was also rich. The forest was inhabited by bears, wolves, foxes, rabbits, roe deer, partridges and other animals. During the occupation, the Topkhana forest was practically destroyed, and its vegetation and fauna perished.

Since 1988, as a result of the military aggression of Armenia, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and 7 neighboring administrative regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan were under occupation.

In 1988-1993, Nagorno-Karabakh with an area of ​​4,400 sq. km (the cities of Khankendi and Khojaly, as well as the regions of Shusha, Askeran, Khojavend, Agdere and Hadrut), the Lachin region – 1,875 sq. km, the Kelbajar region – 1,936 sq. km, the Agdam region – 1,154 sq. km, the Jabrayil region – 1,050 sq. km, the Fizuli region – 1,112 sq. km, the Gubadli region - 826 sq. km, and the Zanghilan region - 707 sq. km were occupied.

Thus, as a result of the military aggression of the Republic of Armenia, 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territories were occupied. In the occupied territories, 2,389 industrial and agricultural facilities, water management, hydraulic structures, all transport and communication lines were completely disabled.

Before the occupation, 99 farms functioned in Nagorno-Karabakh, 30 in the Lachin region, 37 in Kelbajar, 34 in Aghdam, 44 in Fuzuli, 24 in Jabrail, 25 in Gubadli, and 18 in Zanghilan - totally 311 large agricultural enterprises. These farms had 3,425 units of agricultural machinery.

In the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions, agriculture was the main occupation. The inhabitants of these areas were engaged in the production of grain, cotton, grapes, potatoes, as well as livestock products - meat, milk, eggs, wool and other agricultural products. In 1988, it was in these areas that 31.5% of grapes, 14.3% of grain, 7% of potatoes, 17.1% of milk, 14.5% of meat, 19.3% of wool, and 17% of silkworm cocoon were produced (Table 1).

Table 1. Volumes of several agricultural products produced in 1988 in the regions of Azerbaijan occupied by the Armenian invaders.

In 1988, the occupied areas accounted for 15.8% of the total number of cattle in Azerbaijan, 19.2% of sheep and goats, and 38.7% of pigs. In 1988, the farms of these regions kept 313,129 head of cattle, including 111,244 cows and buffaloes and 1,098,881 livestock of small ruminants, of which 20,000 tons of meat, 75.5 thousand tons of milk, and 1,360 tons of wool were produced in the same year.

The report, prepared by the Department of Economic and Social Geography of Baku State University, notes that since 1989, as a result of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, 311 agricultural enterprises, including 145 newly organized viticulture and winemaking, 1,365 cars, 3,425 tractors, 7,296 hydraulic structures, 62 water pumps and irrigation units, 1,200 km of inter-farm irrigation canals, 645.5 thousand hectares of agricultural land, 185.5 thousand hectares of arable land, and 40 thousand hectares of young vineyard plantations were put out of operation, as well as more than 313.1 thousand head of large cattle, including 111.2 thousand cows and buffaloes and 1 million 98 thousand sheep and goats.

In 1988-94, as a result of the military aggression of Armenia, 1.7 million hectares of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan were occupied.

Our studies have shown that wheat production in the former NKAO has not yet been brought to the level of the first war (1988). During the year, grain production is 75-80 thousand tons, which is 25-30% less than in the pre-war period. Armenian officials themselves admit that under conditions of irrigation of only 5 percent of the land, grain production cannot be sustainable, because grain production depends to a large extent on weather conditions, despite the fact that there were 224 large and small reservoirs in the territories occupied by the Armenians. A nation with an occupying and destructive nature not only could not use the fertile lands that it captured, but also degraded these lands, because such a nation cannot be a builder.

For 27 years, the Armenian military regularly shelled and burned pastures in the Terter, Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrail and Khojavend regions. The fires covered tens of thousands of hectares of the territories occupied by the Armenians, and also caused serious damage to the environment, wildlife and farms of the peasants and farmers working in these villages.

The Sarsang reservoir with a total area of ​​560 million m3 is also under Armenian occupation. The Sarsang reservoir provided irrigation water to land plots in the Terter, Agdam, Barda, Goranboy, Yevlakh and Agjabedi districts of the republic. As a result of the occupation of the Sarsang reservoir, 100 thousand hectares of sown areas were deprived of irrigation water. The result was irreparable damage to the agriculture of the region.

Ecologists note that over 460 species of wild trees and shrubs grow in the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia. Of these, 70 are endemic species, but do not grow in a natural state anywhere in the world.

Yew, bear walnut, Araz oak, lapina, oriental plane tree, common pomegranate, forest grapes, pirkal, boxwood, Eldar pine, common persimmon, willow pear and other species of trees were practically destroyed in the occupied territories and turned into endangered species of the world flora.

Research has shown that as a result of the adventure of Armenian separatists who wished to create a Karabakh state on the historical land of Azerbaijan, today about 30 thousand people have died and more than 50 thousand people have become disabled. During this period, more than 1 million residents were expelled from their homes.

It is impossible to understand the logic of the Armenians. The Armenians living on the 1.7 million hectares of Azerbaijani lands occupied by them for 27 years have not been able to create an economy that would provide the 150-thousand (according to the fictitious data of the Armenians themselves) population with bread and food.

Although at the expense of 1.7 million hectares of land, it is possible to meet 100% of the needs of at least 2 million people for all food products and agriculture.

Of course, the problem lies in the occupying and destructive nature of the nation. If the nation were creative, then the territory of Armenia in 29,743 km2 would be enough for twice as many Armenians to live in Armenia at ease. Maybe they will think about that...

After the Armenian military organized attacks on the border settlements and military positions of Azerbaijan on September 27 this year, the Azerbaijani army launched counter-offensive operations to liberate the occupied lands. In a short time, the Azerbaijani army liberated the Jabrayil, Fizuli, Gubadli and Zanghilan regions from occupation. Currently, the fighting continues. I hope that other areas under Armenian occupation will be liberated in the near future. More than a million refugees will have to return to their ancestral lands. The Karabakh lands are very fertile. There is great potential for agricultural development in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions. The production of grain from crop products in the region can be increased to 500 thousand tons, potatoes - up to 100 thousand tons, meat - up to 150 thousand tons, and milk - up to 500 thousand tons.

I'm sure this quote is from an ancient epic "Dada Gorgud" will never forget the hard-working Azerbaijanis: “If you don’t defend the land, you don’t need to plant trees on it, and if you don’t grow trees on this land, you don’t need to defend it.”

Vahid Magerramov