Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

The ceremony of signing a document on launching the third phase of the project "Training on small businesses and micro-credit funds for victims of mines in Azerbaijan" was held on July 12 at the headquarters of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA).

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Azerbaijan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the framework of the socio-economic reintegration of mine victims.

"As part of the project 40 people affected by mines from Aghjabadi, Beylagan, Imishli, Saatli and Bilasuvar regions will be provided with micro-credits. Duration of the project is 15 months," ANAMA Director Nazim Ismayilov said.

In turn, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Antonius Broek said that cooperation between UNDP and ANAMA began in 1999.

Broek noted that the signed document covers the next stage and expansion of ANAMA's capabilities in demining, as well as provision of assistance to mine victims and their families.

"The project is not limited to the issuance of loans to mine victims; trainings on business start-up, as well as in the areas of marketing, accounting, etc. will be conducted for them. About 160 people together with their families will benefit from this project, which is funded by UNDP and ANAMA, and USD 136,100 will be allocated for the purpose," he said.

The implementer of the project is Chirag public association.

Appreciating the work carried out by ANAMA, Acting Head of IOM in Azerbaijan Serhan Aktoprak said that the signing of the document as well as ongoing projects will enhance the authority of ANAMA in the world.

According to Aktorpak, assistance to the people affected by mines is very important from the socio-economic point of view.

To this end, IOM has been implementing projects to ensure stable income for 140 people in Azerbaijan since 2007.

Ismayilovtold journalists that Iraq is interested in studying Azerbaijan's experience in the removal of mines and ammunition. According to Ismayilov, ANAMA has received a specific offer in this regard.

"We have reviewed a request from the Iraqi side and sent our suggestions. The delegation consisting of nine employees of the Iraqi Defense Ministry was to arrive in Azerbaijan, however, due to problems that emerged the visit was postponed," Ismayilov said.

Armenia`s mine action system is in ruins

Responding to a journalist`s question on the establishement of an agency for mine action in Armenia soon under which assistance has already been offered by the United States and Iran, Ismayilov said that Armenia "has no problem with mines the same way as Azerbaijan, there was no war, no one attacked Armenia".

"In the Armenian territory, only the Soviet army at that time, and now the Russian army has mined areas bordering with Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. They will never be demining these territories," Ismayilov said.

According to the Agency director, donor countries create a balance, that is, if any assistance is provided to Azerbaijan, the same aid is provided to Armenia. That is, they do not support one side and take a neutral stance.

Ismayilov said ANAMA was established in 1998 and has been engaged in active work in 2001. At about the same time a similar center was established in Armenia, but it has not achieved any success.

"A demining center was established within the Armenian Defense Ministry. The U.S. State Department primarily acted as the donor of the center. They also bought the equipment that we had purchased. They had to evolve the same way as we were evolving...but no success has been achieved in their work. As a result, funding of this center was suspended two years ago," Ismayilov said.

"Not only work within the country is underway in Azerbaijan; an international training base has been created, we share our experience with the countries of the world. But Armenia failed to organize such work on its soil, therefore, their current system is in ruins. I do not know where information that such organization will be established comes from. For ten years they have been trying to create such an organization, but still have not achieved anything. They have now realized that in Armenia there is no particular problem with mines and unexploded ordnance, " Ismayilov said.

Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war with Armenia in the early 1990s. Large quantities of explosives remain in the frontline regions.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

Russia, France and the U.S. have long been working to broker a solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group, but their efforts have been largely fruitless so far.