An article about the mine problems in Azerbaijan's Karabakh has been published on the oficial website of the AlJazeera Public Liberties and Human Rights.
Ednews presents an article by the leading journalist of "Al-Jazeera" Media Network, professional trainer Mohammed Ghulam Bouba about "landmines in Azerbaijan".
There is no sound louder than mines in Azerbaijan's Karabakh. Heated discussions, meetings everywhere, and awareness-raising efforts; And their hearts yearn for their homeland, and the imminent danger that remains is the mine that prevents them.
This is the case of Azerbaijan, both official and unofficial, as it struggles to remove hundreds of thousands of mines left by the Armenians after their biggest defeat in Karabakh. The way to return the refugees to their homes that they were forced to leave due to the Armenian occupation.
Since the end of the Second Karabakh War - which flared up in September 2020 and stopped in November of the same year - resulting in what is described as a resounding victory for Azerbaijan, after recovering many villages and cities in this region; The government neutralized tens of thousands of mines and unexploded military ordnance in the liberated territories. She says that it is possible that there are more than a million mines still in the ground, especially in the areas of Tartar, Aghdam, Shusha, Khojawand, Fuzuli, Qubadli, Jabrayil and Zangilan regions.
The Azerbaijani government and its political, security and administrative power and influence are racing against time, and on Monday, officials of the Azerbaijan National Agency of Mine Action (ANAMA) announced that efforts for the "great return" to the region are continuing at the highest level.
On September 5, officials of the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan announced that the efforts made for a "great return" to the region continue at a high level.
These words were said during the presentation of the new logo of the Azerbaijan National Agency of Mine Action. International organizations, representatives of foreign embassies, heads of many civil society organizations took part in the presentation.
During the ceremony, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Azerbaijan National Agency of Mine Action (ANAMA), Vugar Suleymanov, said that "after the Patriotic War, more than 50 thousand hectares of mines have been cleared."
He pointed out that employees of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are participating alongside the agency in detecting mines, and that "so far, 67,000 mines, weapons and unexploded ordnance have been removed, and work is continuing in this direction."
In a statement to the Al Jazeera Center for Public Liberties and Human Rights, on the sidelines of the celebration, Vugar Suleymanov said that the government is currently implementing several infrastructure projects in the formerly occupied Karabakh lands. As regards the procedures of the return, he said that it cannot take place before the demining works are completed and fully ensured the security, safety and well-being of people.”
He referred to a declaration recently signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on “Development of Methods of Social and Economic Welfare” after the Second Karabakh War.
In a speech at the ceremony, the president of International Eurasia Press Fund, Umud Mirzayev, praised the efforts of "ANAMA" in clearing mines since the first day, even near the line of contact and he said he saw it with his own eyes.
Mine Maps in return for Armenian militants
Recently, based on humanitarian principles, Azerbaijan handed over 10 Armenian prisoners of war to Yerevan through Russian peacekeepers in exchange for maps of landmines in the formerly occupied areas in Karabakh.
Along with the efforts of the state, civil society organizations are also actively involved in doing these things.
On September 1, the International Eurasia Press Fund organized a public discussion on "The Great Return and Return to Homeland" organized by many enterprises.
Ratified by 110 countries in 2008, the Convention on Cluster Munitions bans cluster munitions outright and obligates them to dispose of cluster munition remnants and assist their victims.
Translated from Arabic By Rena Murshud
Translated into English by Elnur Enveroglu
