Le Figaro's Extensive Coverage of Azerbaijani 'Eco-Activists' in the Lachin Corridor

The prestigious French publication Le Figaro has conducted an extensive examination of the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan and its underlying reasons. Author Élisabeth Pierson also spoke with Ruben Vardanyan, the State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh.

“In an authoritarian country, where freedom of speech is suppressed, speaking about environmental activists is ridiculous. There have been absolutely no environmental protests in Azerbaijan over the past ten years. Why have they suddenly awakened?” stated the Artsakh State Minister in an interview with Le Figaro.

“Around a hundred activists have settled in the Lachin Corridor, claiming to oppose the exploitation of mines in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nearly a hundred Azerbaijani civilians are preventing all types of transportation from entering Nagorno-Karabakh under the pretext of opposing the exploitation of a gold mine. By exposing many individuals supporting Azerbaijan’s ruling regime, Armenians highlight Baku’s duplicity. In a grotesque scene filmed near Shushi, an Azerbaijani woman wrapped in a mushtak and armed with a megaphone curses the mine exploited in Nagorno-Karabakh that harms the environment. In her hand, she waves a ‘dove of peace’ that bobs its head with every jolt from her pressure. When thrown into the air, the dove falls motionless to the ground. The scene would be laughable if it did not testify to a potential humanitarian crisis manifesting in the isolation of 120,000 Armenians in Artsakh since December 12. How long will the blockade last?

Using the pretext of opposing the gold mine's exploitation in Artsakh, the ‘activists’ have pitched tents and established a makeshift village across the width of the road. Throughout the day, hundreds of other civilians join them, broadcasting World Cup football games and organizing festive events under the watchful eyes of Russian peacekeepers. Since taking over the maintenance of this narrow corridor connecting the Armenian enclave to Yerevan in 2020, Russian peacekeeping forces have been powerless to open the road.

It was not difficult to identify the activists displaying high activity on social media. The Armenian service of the ‘Liberty’ radio station has noted, based on regular open sources, that there is no trace of previous interest in environmental issues among these individuals. Conversely, the media notes the common thread among all these activists: “support for the presidential family and pride in Azerbaijan’s military successes.” Moreover, the Armenian analytical group ‘Tatoian Center for Law and Justice’ pointed out in a report that many of them are tied to projects funded by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, a government entity led by Azerbaijan's First Vice President and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. Among those blocking the corridor are also members of the Youth Support Union, an NGO that sent a letter to the Azerbaijani President in 2020 congratulating him on his victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

In turn, Azerbaijani media presents these individuals as brave activists. “Azerbaijan's civil society has demonstrated its strength, culture, and maturity. And its unity,” happily notes, for example, the Day.Az news website, one of many media outlets covering the blockage operation in the corridor. “The country’s NGOs, public activists, volunteers, and journalists are united by the same drive to realize national interests.” The Day.Az outlet does not hesitate to mention one Telman Gasimov among those at the forefront of the blockade. Attracting considerable media attention, this individual presented himself in military uniform on his Facebook page in 2020, with the following caption: “Long live Azerbaijan! Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan.” Flipping through his page, we can see photos of him proudly posing next to Ramil Safarov, who became a hero in Azerbaijan in 2004 after murdering an Armenian officer during a NATO training course.

In one of his Facebook posts, Gasimov displays the insignia of the Turkish nationalist, far-right group ‘Gray Wolves,’ which has claimed responsibility for numerous acts of violence against ethnic minority groups in Turkey, particularly against Armenians. The group’s symbol—two fingers raised towards the sky and the three other fingers bent—frequently appears in photographs from the blockade.

The strategic gold mine referred to in these protests is the Kashen mine, located in an area left to the Republic of Artsakh as part of the 2020 ceasefire agreement. “This gold mine is a drop of water in the ocean, a trivial matter for Azerbaijan, which is already rich in gas and oil. But for Artsakh, it is one of our few remaining economic resources,” notes Hovhannes Gevorgyan, the representative of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh in France. “If Baku takes control of it, it means depriving 1,800 employees and equally as many families of their source of income. It is an additional means of economically suffocating our area.” CivilNet, an independent Armenian news agency, has uncovered that the Azerbaijani government recently sold the rights to exploit the Kashen mine to a British company. Should we see a connection between the activists’ demand to deprive Armenians of mining operations under the guise of environmental concerns? The activists, for their part, have expressed their willingness to go to the end. “No one intends to retreat. Our people are ready to continue the protests as long as we do not achieve our goal,” Telman Gasimov said in an interview with Day.Az on December 22. “I am not going to make predictions about duration. I can only confirm that despite the cold, the determination of those protesting on the Lachin road is unshakeable.”