Azerbaijan plans to liquidate all tent camps by end of 2007

On June 20, Refugees' Day was marked in Azerbaijan. This Day was marked for the first time on June 20, 2001 upon a decision of the UN General Assembly.

The "Echo" newspaper, citing the State Committee on Work with refugees and forced migrants, states that more than 19 million refugees and about 25 million forced migrants are registered today in 49 countries of the world.

Yesterday, Sanan Guseinov, head of the Committee press-service, said that there were about 250,000 refugees exiled from Armenia in Azerbaijan. The vast army of refugees also includes more than 50,000 Turkish Meskhetins who have found shelter in Azerbaijan during the recent years.

Additionally, the State Committee states that, as a result of occupation by Armenia of Azeri lands, there are 686,586 forced migrants. Talking about the condition of the refugees and forced migrants, the Committee representative states that in previous years there were 12 tent camps in the country. But already by 2003, he states, five such camps have been liquidated while their inhabitants reside in a new settlement built specially for them.

The Committee representative also states that works on the construction of a settlement for residents of four tent camps have been completed and the camps will soon be liquidated. As a result, he claims, there will only remain three camps housing more than four thousand families. "Their liquidation is only a question of time, since the government of the country has already allocated the resources required for building another settlement for forced migrants," says S. Guseinov.

According to him, a tender is going to be announced during the coming days, and construction will start. "The country's leadership states that already by the end of 2007 there will not be a single tent camp in the country," notes S. Guseinov. He also highlights that, in the course of construction of new settlements, the state tries to fully provide such settlements with the required infrastructure, such as roads, schools, water, gas and electricity supply, etc.

However, as is specially noted at the Committee, the forced migrants are allocated housing "temporarily," considering the fact that the occupied land is planned to be liberated. "After the liberation of the land we shall launch a stage-by-stage program of repatriation of our citizens back to their native land," states the head of the State Committee press-service.

As regards working places for the forced migrants who complain that there is not enough work in the new settlements, the State Committee claims that this problem is being solved within an appropriate state program. According to Guseinov, apart from dwelling in the new settlements, the migrants are allocated 0.12 hectares of land and additional land for agricultural purposes.

Additionally, small production shops are planned to be built in the new settlements. "Incidentally, the problem of employment concerns not only forced migrants," highlights S. Guseinov.

According to him, the government of Azerbaijan is also trying to improve the social status of forced migrants. The state pays monthly allowances for food to 530,000 migrants. Additionally, the head of press-services notes, many people belonging to this category are exempt from payments for various public utilities, notary duties, may be exempt from payment for education in case they have been admitted to paid courses at universities, etc.

"Various categories of forced migrants get food from international organizations, including the UN," relates S. Guseinov, State Committee employee.

"As of today, about 4,000 refugees have found shelter in Azerbaijan," stated yesterday Vulgar Abdulsalimov, head of Baku office of the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, in an interview to the "Echo" newspaper. He specially highlighted that the figure did not include the persons exiled from Armenia and the forced migrants from the occupied Azeri land.

According to the officer of the UNHCR office, the overwhelming majority of third countries' refugees are Chechens, Russian citizens. Also, there Afghanis and immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, etc. Most refugees have already been registered at the UNHCR Baku office which has been operating in Azerbaijan since 1992.

The office, in its turn, renders such people legal assistance, notes Abdulsalimov. "Each person belonging to this category gets from our office a document certifying that he/she enjoys protection of the UNHCR," he states.

According to him, the UNHCR puts some efforts into rendering assistance to forced immigrants in Azerbaijan. "We undertake repair of public buildings, schools and hospitals, and we try to make our contribution to the issues of education," notes V. Abdulsalimov.