By Rachel Avraham
Recently, as a journalist who writes for Israel Today and as the CEO of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy, I was the only Israeli to attend the Third International Conference on Mine Action: Mitigating Environmental Impact of Landmines, which was hosted by the UN Development Program and ANAMA, the national anti-landmine agency of Azerbaijan, in Zangilan and Baku, Azerbaijan. For me, this was my second time being the only Israeli to attend this ANAMA/UNDP conference and my fifth trip to the war-torn Karabakh region.
As we speak, Karabakh is one of the most heavily mined regions in the world, containing around 1.5 million landmines and an unknown number of unexploded ordinances throughout the war-torn region, which has emerged from thirty years where Armenia controlled the area in violation of four UN Security Council resolutions. A few years ago, nothing existed in Karabakh except destroyed homes, burnt agricultural fields, uprooted trees, polluted rivers with no fish, and landmines, ready to detonate at any moment.
Now, the UN delegation together with myself were able to bear witness to the existence of a green village in Zangilan, complete with a convention center, a newly built mosque, a hotel, and a school. In the center of the village stands a newly constructed fountain. But about one year ago, nothing existed in the area except burnt wasteland. What the delegation witnessed in Zangilan the Azerbaijani government wants to replicate across Karabakh, but they are presently held back by landmines. The fact that Armenia has not handed over all their maps and only 25% of what the Armenians have handed over is usable has not assisted Azerbaijani reconstruction efforts.
Hikmet Hajiyev, the Special Assistant to Azerbaijan’s President, delivered a speech on behalf of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, where he noted that 365 Azerbaijani civilians since the end of the Second Karabakh War have fallen victim to mine explosions: “Booby-traps have been placed along the roads, cemeteries and other civilian facilities beyond the line of contact.” He also noted that new landmines have been placed since the end of the Second Karabakh War: “Responsibility for that rests with Armenia. It creates serious obstacles for the 800,000 displaced persons.”
In fact, some of the landmines that were planted in the Karabakh region were placed there under the reign of the separatist ruler Ruben Vardanyan, thus hindering Azerbaijan’s efforts to revitalize the region and making peace more difficult to obtain. Therefore, for this reason, the Azerbaijanis cannot fathom releasing Vardanyan from prison, as people were harmed by these landmines. For them, releasing Vardanyan would be like releasing one of the Palestinian terrorists who threw stones at Israelis, causing deaths and injuries.
One should not forget that one of the reasons why Azerbaijan launched a counter-terror operation is because Armenian separatist Ruben Vardanyan, who is presently sitting in a Baku prison, financed Armenian armed groups that stood behind two terror attacks, where the Armenians planted landmines in the center of roads. As a result, in one of the terror attacks, four employees of the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry – Jamalzade Asim (born 1994), Shirinov Ramil (born 1987), Mahmudov Seymur (born 1991), Zamanov Khazar (born 1998) were killed. Azerbaijan has accused former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan of “financing terrorism”, “creating and participating in illegal armed organizations”, and “illegally crossing the Azerbaijani state border”.
According to the Begin Sadaat Center for Strategic Studies, the conflict between the Azerbaijanis and local Armenians was entire orchestrated by Vardanyan and other extremists, who were looking for problems: “The dispute between Baku and local Armenians mainly revolved around the issue of which road to use to deliver humanitarian supplies. Armenians demanded that the goods be transported only via the Lachin road leading to Armenia. Baku insisted on using the Aghdam road leading from Azerbaijan. The problem was solved, and humanitarian aid started flowing through both roads, but immediately two terrorist attacks followed, to which Azerbaijan had no other choice but to react.”
They added: “Both terrorist acts – planting extremely powerful landmines on the roads – took place in the area controlled by Russian troops. The official goal of the Azerbaijani operation is to remove all the militants from Karabakh and ensure security in the region – which is exactly what the Russians were supposed to do.”
Since the Azerbaijanis re-established security in the region, Aliyev stressed that Azerbaijan considers demining to be a top priority, proclaiming, “So far, 140,000 hectors have been cleared, but there is far more to do. Azerbaijan is using the most cutting-edge technologies worldwide.” However, without usable landmine maps, he noted that it is still a struggle.
Vugar Suleymanov, chairman of the board of ANAMA, proclaimed: “Azerbaijan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. 285,000 square kilometers of our land are covered with landmines to various degrees, with up to 1.5 million landmines placed there during the occupation. Cluster munitions and white phosphorous munitions have added to the landmine contamination issue and the right to life altogether. Since 1991, there have been over 3,000 mine victims.”
He stressed: “The loss of life is the most important impact, but we cannot overlook the destroyed infrastructure and the damage done to the soil. Lands that used to be fertile now are a barren wasteland, leading to ecological devastation. Water resources have dried up or become polluted by sources of war.”
Azerbaijan is presently working together with the United Nations in order to raise more global awareness about the threats posed by landmines not only in Karabakh, but worldwide. Anti-personnel landmines are prohibited under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (or Mine Ban Convention), adopted in 1997. More than 150 countries have joined this treaty.
Heidi Kuhn, founder of Roots of Peace, a humanitarian non-profit which seeks to turn landmines into grapevines, told the conference: “This is my third time walking through the mine fields of Karabakh. Karabakh is known as the beautiful black garden, yet I saw things that I could not even imagine. Mile after mile after mile of land were riddled with the explosive remnants of war. We took action and together with the brave deminers, we detonated those landmines. And today, I remain more committed than ever to the concept of turning mines into vines, replacing the scourge of landmines with vineyards and orchards worldwide. From the heart of Karabakh, what we plant here this spring will sprout hope when the world convenes here for COP29.”
She stressed that we have a moral responsibility to demine worldwide. According to Kuhn, she jumpstarted her career after surviving cancer: “I hosted an event in my home and learned that landmines are a cancer, and their solution is removal. There are over 110 million landmines planted in over 60 countries. Looking at my four children, I could not imagine children who kick a soccer ball out of bounds to lose their life or limb to a landmine.” From that event, she jumpstarted Roots for Peace and began a global struggle against landmines.
Kuhn was also active in Israel as well. Although the landmine issue in the Golan Heights and in the West Bank is not as pronounced as it is in Karabakh, as there are less of them and Israel is very good about placing warning signs, something that does not always exist in Karabakh, the issue still exists nevertheless. Israel presently is working to demine the Golan Heights and other areas of the Holy Land, after the Jewish state realized that placing signs warning of landmines was not enough to protect civilians.
According to Kuhn, “We worked in Israel when a little boy named Daniel Yuval stepped on a landmine when he was only 11 years old. There was a rare snowfall in the Golan Heights and the warning signs for landmines were covered. He asked me if I could help him make a landmine free world. Together, we lobbied the Knesset and brought forward the first ever humanitarian mine action law.”
She related, “From there, we raised funds to remove landmines from Bethlehem, the land where Jesus Christ was born. Three faiths and one mine field. We all know the atrocities going on in the Holy Land today. I think as women we have an obligation to stand for the gift of life and there is no better way to do that than to remove these insidious landmines not only from the soil but from our soul. The hatred in the soil is represented by a landmine. The hatred in our hearts is pandemic throughout the world. But we cannot leave a void. A seed planted today will after a thousand years lead to the earth forgiving us. It is quite amazing.” For that reason, she travels the earth, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, calling for a mine free world, compelling nations to act on the issue. Heidi Kuhn is a force to be reckoned with, strongly advocating for the rights of landmine victims across the globe.
