Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov informed during his speech at the special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council that the first group of internally displaced families has already returned to Agali village of Zangilan district, Talish village of Tartar district and Lachin city. However, massive contamination of Azerbaijani territories with mines and other explosive substances is the main obstacle and poses a serious humanitarian threat. Indiscriminate landmines continue to kill people almost every day. In 2020, after the signing of the tripartite Declaration, 302 people became victims of landmines.
Umud Mirzayev, president of the International Eurasia Press Fund, speaking to Ednews, said that landmine is one of the most serious problems of Azerbaijan.
"In order to solve such problems as a whole, the countries of the world should show solidarity. Azerbaijan has liberated its lands from occupation for more than two years. Karabakh has not yet been completely cleared of mines. This process takes years. Even if people want to return to their homes, the mine is an obstacle for them. There is a need to add strength to the strength of Azerbaijan. Here, both donors and international organizations should contribute to the mine action process."
Umud Mirzayev stressed that serious measures are always taken in this field in Azerbaijan. In May, the 2nd international humanitarian demining conference under the theme "Combating the Mine Threat - The Path to Sustainable Development" was held.
"Sufficiently well-known people participated in that conference. They witnessed firsthand how serious a problem landmines are. I was on a trip to the region for several days. Managing Director of Al Jazeera Documentary, one of the main branches of the Al Jazeera Media Network, Ahmed Mahfouz and Manager of Planning & Scheduling, Adel Ksiksi, are visiting Azerbaijan. The guests got acquainted with the demining activities of ANAMA located near the city of Fuzuli. Representatives of the TV channel saw with their own eyes both anti-tank and anti-personnel mines buried in the ground. They witnessed how serious the mine problem is. Also, IEPF's partner, Heidi Kühn, head of the Roots of Peace organization, supports the transformation of mine-contaminated areas into agricultural land with the initiative "Mines to Vines" in order to support agriculture. The head of the "Roots of Peace" organization donated the 250,000 dollars prize he received from the "World Food Prize" to support the demining of our territories.
The head of the fund also noted that currently educational measures are being taken on landmines by involving selected population groups of different age and professional categories.
"Citizens should be educated about the risks and safe behaviour, and be informed about different types of landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices. They should also be taught how to protect themselves from mines and explosive remnants of war. The work does not end there. People have to learn to live with mines. It is true that we are facing a serious problem, but this does not mean that people will not return to their homes. Serious infrastructure projects are being implemented in Karabakh. People will move one by one. A great program is underway. In order to revive life in Karabakh, both the lands must be cleaned and the people must be educated. I believe that our people will soon return to their ancestral lands with peace of mind."
