On April 4, on the occasion of the International Mine Awareness and Mine Action Assistance Day, members of the Public Council under the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA), leaders of Azerbaijan's leading NGOs, representatives of a number of international organizations, the first female deminers of Azerbaijan organized by the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF), An event was held in Tartar with the participation of employees of Non-Technical Investigation and Explosive Ordnance Awareness projects, landmine victims and their family members.
Ednews informs that Umud Mirzayev, the president of IEPF and the chairman of the Public Council under ANAMA, opened the event and spoke about the danger of landmines in the world and in Azerbaijan, and the consequences caused by it:
"As you know, the territory of Azerbaijan was mined all over by the Armenian invaders. Our country ranks among the top ten in the world for landmine and unexploded ordnance pollution. We often witness mine incidents. Two days ago, four civilians fell into a landmine and were seriously injured. The state of Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev, is working with all his might to clear the landmines of our liberated territories. In this matter, we - the representatives of the civil society - are doing our best and will continue to do so. Because after many years, a large migration of our internally displaced persons to the lands liberated from the Armenian occupation has begun. We must protect our people from the threat of landmines, which have become a human scourge. "
Hafiz Safikhanov, chairman of the Azerbaijan Campaign Against Landmines, secretary of the Public Council under ANAMA, gave a speech and informed about the extent of the problems of unexploded ordnance in Azerbaijan and the fight against them. He stated that the number of landmine victims in Azerbaijan is greater than the number of landmine victims in other areas of the South Caucasus, and new landmine victims are reported every month. For this reason, addressing the citizens, he stated that it is necessary to strictly follow the recommendations given in the educational programs:
"Our problem is very big, it will continue with us for years, so we must strictly follow the recommendations and tasks given in the educational programs," said H. Safikhanov.
Hafiz Azimzadeh, a landmine victim and a member of the Public Council at ANAMA, spoke about his fall into a landmine while performing his duty in the liberated territory and about this human problem as a whole:
"I fell into a mine buried by our hated enemies while performing my duty in Agdam, which was freed from occupation. I lost a leg. Those who suffer from this problem know and understand better. I call on the world community to pay attention to the landmine problem in our Azerbaijan, and to support the government of Azerbaijan in this matter by major countries and international organizations!"
Chairman of the Association of Mine Victims in Azerbaijan, mine victim Rey Karimoglu spoke about the problems of mine victims in our country and the work done by the state of Azerbaijan in this direction.
Later, an appeal addressed to the world community with the signatures of civil society organizations, mine victims and mine victims' family members was accepted. The statement was read by Umud Mirzayev, the president of IEPF.
Later, with the participation of members of the Women's demining team project implemented by IEPF, representatives of the Non-Technical Research and Explosive Ordnance Awareness project, awareness activities were held for the residents of Orta Garvand and Tazakend villages of Aghdam district, Aghkend, Seydimli and Eskipara villages of Tartar district.
