Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
As many as 2,300 families – more than 12,000 internally displaced persons – were provided with new houses and apartments in Azerbaijan in 2017, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov said.
He made the remarks at an expanded meeting of the Committee’s board dedicated to the results of 2017 and forthcoming tasks.
Due to the ethnic cleansing policy carried out by Armenia and occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, the number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan hit more than 1.2 million. Today, Azerbaijan is among the countries carrying the highest IDP caseload in the world in per capita terms.
Problems of IDPs became the subject of daily care and the number one issue for the country. In the years of 2001-2016, 95 settlements have been built, 151 schools, 58 cultural centers, 59 health centers and other infrastructure facilities for IDPs have been constructed. The poverty rate among IDPs declined from 75 percent to 12 percent.
During the meeting, Hasanov emphasized the relevant orders of the President of Azerbaijan aimed at restoration and long-term development of the liberated Jojug Marjanli village of the Jabrayil region. He noted the President’s visit to the village to get familiar with the works on its restoration, as well as another decree on continuing the village restoration.
The deputy prime minister noted that the second-stage reconstruction work carried out in the village was completed with high quality in a short time.
“The most important thing is that as a result of the successful policy of the head of state, the whole world now knows the Jojug Marjanli village,” Hasanov said.
Jojug Marjanli village was liberated by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces from the Armenian occupation in April 2016. In late January 2017, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore the village.
During the first phase of restoration, 50 private houses, a school, mosque, electric substation, hydrometeorological station, highway and other relevant infrastructure were constructed in Jojug Marjanli. The village was provided with gas, electricity and water supply. During the second phase of construction and restoration work and work on improvement and creation in Jojug Marjanli, new houses were built and infrastructure was enhanced in the village.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.