Javid Gara: “There is bureaucratic arbitrariness behind this”

Baku/26.03.21/Turan: “The illegal hunting of Arabs for wild birds and animals in Azerbaijan is more the result of the arbitrariness of officials than bribes. The officials who allowed this and the Arab hunters should be punished by law, said the ecologist activist Javid Gara said this in the release of the Turan program "Difficult Question" dated March 26, 2021, dedicated to the illegal hunting by Arabs for birds listed in the Red Book in Azerbaijan.

According to the expert, these days a group of Arabs visited the Ajinohur reserve in Gakh and illegally hunted there. There were numerous appeals regarding this, “They say that the arrivals were from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi; among them were Arab sheikhs and even a prince,” the eco-activist says.

According to him, to establish the identity of the arrivals, he contacted the translator who accompanied the Arabs, who said that the arrivals were guests of Jamaladdin (i.e. the Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov).

Gara says that after the facts of illegal hunting of Arabs were obtained and the issue was made public on a social network, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources came out in defense of Arab hunters. “The ministry's statements on this matter were made from the standpoint of protecting Arab hunters. If they were ours, they would have been disgraced long ago. What to say about the fine, for sure, they would have already been arrested,” the eco-activist comments on loyalty towards the Arabs.

The expert believes that the Arabs could hunt after the end of the hunting season only with the patronage of an influential official. If this had been done for a bribe, then the bribe taker would have been prosecuted long ago as a scapegoat. This is also evidenced by the fact that so far no one has been punished.

Javid Gara said that the Ajinohur reserve, where the Arabs hunted, occupies 372 hectares of land. The reserve, rented by a certain citizen of Azerbaijan, was transferred to the Arabs for hunting, although hunting in the reserve is prohibited.

“However, it is unknown who is this citizen; neither his surname nor his first name is known. Even if the reserve is transferred to this citizen, the Ministry of Ecology can still take the necessary measures. The ministry said two Arab tourists were fined for illegal hunting. It is not known which court and which judge ruled on the fine. All this is done apparently to calm the public. But we will continue this campaign until the hunting camp in Ajinohur is demolished,” said Javid Gara.

In his opinion, persons arriving in Azerbaijan and carrying out illegal hunting cannot leave the country just like that. Both Arab hunters and their patrons must be punished. He believes that officials who do not respect and defend the rule of law should resign.

The hunting season in Azerbaijan for 2020-2021 began on June 1 and ended on March 7, 2021. -05B-