Demining expands to east

Demining work is set to expand in Tajikistan, with two demining teams, newly trained by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), joining the mountainous Central Asian nation’s mine action body. "Both groups have been sent to their duty areas and will work there until the first snow," Parviz Mavlonkulov, deputy of the Tajik Mine Action Centre (TMAC) said in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Wednesday. "With the number of demining teams growing, the efficiency of clearing minefields in Tajikistan will increase because they will be able to cover larger areas, operate in several hazardous spots throughout the country and it will increase the number of detected mines and unexploded ordnance [UXOs]," Mavlonkulov added. Forty-eight Tajik soldiers have undergone demining training with the FSD and two demining teams with 21 deminers in each have now been established. A mine risk assessment group has also been set up. The first demining team will be deployed to the Khaburabot pass in the eastern Darvaz district, more than 400 km from Dushanbe, while the second team will work in the eastern district of Tavildara, some 300 km east of the capital. "These areas were prioritised by TMAC, based on mine risk surveys conducted earlier and in compliance with the national plan on mine action. Moreover, there is a growing need for land cultivation in that mountainous part of the country," Mavlonkulov explained, adding that land in the area was badly needed for agriculture. Most land mines in Tajikistan were laid during the devastating five-year civil war, which ended in 1997. In many areas the mines still pose a deadly threat as well as a major impediment to effective land use. 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), listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation which trained in and operated from Tajik territory. According to TMAC, until recently mine action in the former Soviet republic had been carried out by two teams in mined areas of the central Rasht Valley and Vanj district. Also, three assessment teams have been gathering information on the extent of mines on the Afghan border. These groups have cleared more than 85,490 sq metres of land. Since 1992 landmines have killed more than 240 people and injured 239 more in the Central Asian state. Despite the current lack of resources, there have been successes. Tajikistan completed the destruction of its anti-personnel mine stockpile in March 2004 and the use of landmines is no longer part of military training or activities, TMAC said. Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is making its contribution to raising mine awareness, particularly among children. "This month 25 trainers supported by UNICEF will start training in 20 schools in Rasht, Tavildara, Vanj and Darvaz districts on raising mine risk awareness among children," Jonmahmad Rajabov, head of TMAC, said. 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.