DUSHANBE, July 3, 2008, Asia-Plus — Since the beginning of this year, demining teams f the Tajik Mine Action Cell (TMAC) have cleared some 200,000 square meters of land and neutralized 1,667 antipersonnel mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), the TMAC head Jonmahmad Rajabov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, more than 1.5 million sq meters of land have been cleared so far and they have to clear another 20 million sq meters.
Tajikistan signed the Convention on the Prohibition on the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on their Destruction (the Ottawa Convention) in 2000. All signatory states undertook to ensure the destruction of all anti-personnel land mines they possess, as soon as possible but no later than 10 years after signing the convention. In the case of Tajikistan, this means that the country should be mine-free by 2010.
However, the TMAC head considers that the present level of efforts will be insufficient to make Tajikistan landmine-impact-free country by the time fixed. “The point is that we need additional funds for successfully carrying out demining operation,” said Rajabov. “At present only 70 combat engineers are involved in the mine-clearance operation to rid the country of unexploded mines. We need more personnel, but insufficient financing does not allow increasing their number.”
According to him, Tajikistan applied to donors for further $5.5 million for demining operation last year already; however, it has received only $2 million so far. “With such financing we will not be able to rid the country of the antipersonnel mines and UXOs by the fixed time,” the TMAC head said.
Most land mines in Tajikistan were laid during the devastating five-year civil war, which ended in 1997. Additional mines were laid along the Tajik-Uzbek border by the authorities in Tashkent in the late 1990s. The action was reportedly taken to stave off incursions by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
According to statistics, more than 600 people in Tajikistan have become victims of mine explosions.
