GOLDEN MIRAGES

The action of Azerbaijani civil activists, primarily environmentalists, on the Lachin-Shusha-Khankendi road remains in the focus of politicians and experts. As do the tearful hysterics of Armenians about the mythical ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in so-called Artsakh.

Meanwhile, the degree of situation around the protest action has gradually diminished.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and their ambulances, supply vehicles of peacekeepers and trucks with humanitarian aid from Armenia can safely pass through the Azerbaijani picket. Yet this does not affect the activity of the Armenian top leadership and their advocates who categorically demand Azerbaijan open the road, which is not actually blocked.

Armenian fakes revisited

In fact, the campaign has been accompanied by the intense Armenian forgery. Melodramatic performances by Ruben Vardanyan—a state minister in Artsakh—and his company have fazed even Nikol Pashinian's wife Anna Hakobyan. She recalled that the tents set up by her foundation for a New Year party organised for the children in Khankendi were dismantled and said in the social networks that she was “horrified to know that the children in Artsakh were forced to join the rallies demanding the unblocking of the Lachin Corridor. Adults make them memorise and record heartbreaking pieces of text, organise various actions with their participation and disseminate it all around the world in order to cause pity so that the tents are dismantled".

Actively disseminated fakes about the ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ have been distrustful from the outset. Couldn't the ‘Vardanian government’ have realised how vulnerable the Lachin corridor was due to natural causes?! How could Khankendi, a predominantly farming area, fail to stock up food that would keep it rolling for at least a couple of weeks? These questions are rhetorical, of course. In addition, let us repeat that the Azerbaijani protesters do not block the humanitarian transport.

Khankendi and Yerevan are ranting about Azerbaijan "keeping more than 120,000 people under blockade". In fact, the population of Khankendi has never been 120,000 even before the 44-day war. Today there are about 50,000 people in the temporary deployment zone of the Russian peacekeeping contingent (RPC), according to the peacekeepers. But according to the UN report, this number is 20,000-30,000. So, the departure from Garabagh continues: people are hopeless and afraid of a new war, while Armenia’s permanent attempts to undermine the signing of a peace treaty only add up to these fears.

With such a negative demographic trend, we believe it would better not to try to wage a rally war. But Ruben Vardanian decided to go all the way.

Recurring failures

It was expected that Armenians in Khankendi would organise another rally against the one on the Lachin road. The separatists began to revive political technologies in Khankendi this autumn after notorious Ruben Vardanyan arrived in the RPC zone. Not only did the scandalous Moscow oligarch formed a new government from individuals that clearly did not fit the scale of Khankendi, but also tried to organise a rally similar to the one we saw during the first wave of the notorious Garabagh  movement.

Even at that time experts noted that the mood of protesters was not combative. Hence the action was referred to as a ‘rally of the doomed’. In addition, the social media outlets leaked information that the protesters for the 'Garabagh rally’ was brought from Yerevan, and that they were paid in petrol for their participation in the event.

So, amid the protest on the Lachin corridor, Vardanian tried to slate a new rally in Khankendi on December 17. Perhaps his team seriously believed that the Azerbaijani protesters would be forced to leave before the 17th. But they were wrong. This put Vardanian in a very delicate position. Cancelling the rally would mean admitting that the Azerbaijani experts were right and that the first rally participants had been flown in from Yerevan, which he could not do. Yet they held the rally, which predictably ended in total failure: there were no more than a thousand people.

On December 25, the organisers decided to hold the second rally. They mobilised local troops and police officers, who were ordered to dress in civilian clothes and bring their families with them, budget workers and the employees of state-run enterprises... They could gather just over 10,000 people but immediately reported to the media about 60,000 protesters!

In fact, the town square in Khankendi is physically unable to accommodate so many protesters. So why all the fuss?

It has been noted several times in Baku that the protest on the Lachin road was organised in response to the disruption of the agreed monitoring programme at the Gizilbulag and Demirli mines.

Forgotten robbery

Vardanian and his company are doing their best to continue plundering Azerbaijan's natural wealth, especially gold.

Let us remind you that Gizilbulag is not the only gold mine located in the Azerbaijani lands occupied by Armenia. Zod mine, or Soyudlu, as well as Vejneli deposit in Zangilan were also under occupation. Soyudlu was taken over by the Russian company GeoProMining. Financial investment company Vallex Group (mine’s operator) and a certain Swiss citizen Vartan Sirmakes, General Director of the world-famous Swiss watch brand Franck Muller Group, have played a major role in looting of the Vejneli mine. Gold plundered in Garabagh and Eastern Zangezur was also used in the manufacture of watches. The General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan is investigating a criminal case, with Valery Mejlumyan, the official head of the Armenian company Vallex Group, Artur Mkrtumyan, Executive Director of Base Metals, and Vardan Sirmakes of Frank Muller Group being defendants.

With the end of the 44-day war, Armenia lost control over many Azerbaijani gold deposits. Consequently the gold exports from Armenia fell by half. But experts warn that this is official export data.

Armenian criminals have long been known for smuggling gold and precious metals internationally. We have already published information on the international network of Armenian smugglers. This also includes the famous criminal cases involving foreign currency traders from the 1960s-1970s, with the key figures being Armenian repatriates. One of them is the murder of the governor of the Magadan Oblast of Russia known for being the main source of Russian gold, Valentin Tsvetkov, where most of the defendants were of Armenian nationality. One can only guess how much of the gold stolen in Garabagh was pumped through shadow business channels.

After losing fertile lands in the Araz Valley, gold deposits in Zangilan and Kalbajar, the plundering of the Gizilbulag and Demirli mines was perhaps the only source of income of top Armenian separatists to fill in the budget of the unrecognised government of Garabagh and, most importantly, their own pockets. Undoubtedly, Ruben Vardanian used to see more impressive figures and turnover volumes, but amid sanctions against Russia he will not be able to use the schemes as he did with his once largest money laundry, bank Troika Dialog. He does not have a choice either. Therefore, the Khankendi leadership will fight to death for the mines in Garabagh.

Yet they will be unable to change anything. Azerbaijan is confidently changing the rules of the game being on course to fully restore its sovereignty over the zone of temporary deployment of the RPC. Baku is not going to wait until 2025 to stop the plundering of its natural resources.

So Mr. Vardanian is better not indulge in false hopes.