In recent days, there have been fatalities in Azerbaijan as a result of mine explosions. This situation further highlights the importance of ensuring security and accelerating demining efforts. This danger, which ends human lives, also causes social and economic consequences. What additional measures should be taken to minimize the mine hazard?
Regarding this topical issue, Hafiz Safikhanov, Chairman of the "Campaign Against Mines in Azerbaijan" Public Association, gave a detailed statement to Medianews.az.
According to him, based on the directive and order of the head of state, ANAMA was reorganized in 2021. The Ministry of Defense, the State Border Service, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations were also involved in the demining process. In addition, 4 national commercial organizations carry out mine clearance, and one NGO has been active in this field for many years:
“Currently, all international methods are applied in humanitarian demining in our country. Operations are conducted by hand, mechanically, and with the help of remotely controlled special equipment and mine-detecting dogs. Although significant results have been achieved in this direction, unfortunately, mine explosions still occur. We receive monthly information about new mine victims, practically every month, in liberated territories.
It cannot be said that international organizations and countries are indifferent to the mine problem in Azerbaijan. Because it is necessary to work consistently with both official representatives of countries and representatives of international organizations."
Safikhanov stated that last week, as the head of the organization, he participated as an NGO representative at the 13th annual conference of member states to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Geneva:
“Within the framework of the conference, I met with officials from the governments of Turkey, Italy, Norway, Hungary, Austria, France, Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Slovenia, as well as a representative of the European Union. Moreover, we had meetings with the leadership of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition, the authors of the Cluster Munition Report, staff of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, the Director of the UN Mine Action Service, and the head of the “Mine Action Review” report. During these meetings, we presented in two languages—Azerbaijani and English—a report titled “The Problem of Cluster Munitions in Azerbaijan,” prepared within our project funded by the State Support Agency for NGOs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I provided the English version to these persons. The report was met with great interest and was said to be used in future activities. All this shows that several international organizations and countries have begun to take the demining issue in Azerbaijan more seriously. This is also reflected in certain financial supports. However, unfortunately, the financial aid allocated is still not adequate to the scale of the problem.”
Finally, Safikhanov made an appeal to Azerbaijani citizens:
“The Great Return process to Karabakh is accelerating. People must strictly adhere to safety rules and follow the instructions provided in awareness programs. Under no circumstances should anyone enter minefields or act independently on their own initiative. Unfortunately, some of our citizens demonstrate irresponsibility, which leads to tragic outcomes.
I kindly ask all citizens to take safety measures seriously. Today, the number of mine victims in Azerbaijan is higher than in other regions of the Caucasus, and unfortunately, this indicator continues to increase.”
Oguz Ayvaz,
Medianews.az
