Herewith
for the following reasons, we the undersigned, as part of the concerned Iranian
people, declare our unequivocal condemnation of the Convention recently signed
under a media blackout by the representatives of the five littoral states of
the Caspian Sea (CS) on Aug 12, 2018 (Mordad 21, 1397) in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
I-
This Convention overrides and overwrites the 1921 and 1940 treaties between
Iran and the Soviet Union, which authorized an overlap ownership (Condominium)
of the entire wealth and potentials of the water mass.
II-
This Convention subliminally and by default recognizes the secluded bilateral
agreements between other parties on sharing seabed reserves ignoring the
Iranian side.
III-
This Convention forces Iran to acknowledge the ongoing exploration and
exploitation activities for oil and gas reserves by other states.
IV-
This Convention nonchalantly relieves itself of imposing proportional
responsibilities for the harms to the unique environmental characteristics of
the CS and the grave consequences of potential ecological accidents caused by
the parties with oil and gas reserves, while Iran will have only to absorb the
undue damages.
V-
The Article 14 of this Convention, which authorizes installation of seabed
pipelines for member states without reserving a veto right for Iran, undermines
the geopolitical stature of Iran-o
VI-
This Convention deploys a questionable platform that leaves Iran with at best
13% of the seabed ownership which holds less than 1% of the proven oil and gas
reserves of the CS.
VII-
This Convention generously leaves Russia almost the entire water mass to enjoy
an uncontested military prowess.
According
to the Article 78 of the Iranian Constitution, a resolution to any dispute
regarding the demarcation of the Iranian sovereign domain borders, including
coastal borders, has to be recognized as such and then ratified by at least 80%
of the Majlis (Parliament) representatives.
Needless
to say, any decision by the Iranian government under current unconventional and
murky circumstances will culminate in harm to the interests of the nation and
the future generations of Iran. We believe the ratification of this Convention
by the Majlis is not only a disservice to the present, but creates a titanic
task for the future to undo it.
We
the undersigned declare in no uncertain terms, the finalization of such fateful
Act is beyond the capacity and legitimacy of any branch of the state and even
the Majlis. Thus, for the aforementioned reasons, we demand that the approval
of this Convention will have to gain a great majority upvote through a national
referendum regardless of its potential ratification. In the absence of such
outcome, this Convention is deemed void and null by us.
This
DECLARATION is addressed to the Iranian government, four other signatory
parties, and the international community.
