Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan's government is successfully implementing a program on improving the living conditions of refugees and IDPs displaced during the brutal war with Armenia in the early 1990s and on increasing employment, which was approved by President Ilham Aliyev in 2004.

Within the State Program the refugees and internally displaced persons residing in the dormitories of Baku State University will be moved to a settlement built in the village of Mushvigabad starting in February or March.

Azerbaijan faces a long-standing conflict with Armenia, which flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Over one million citizens of Azerbaijan became refugees and IDPs as a result of Armenia's military aggression. Armenia invaded over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's historical territory - Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions -- in the aftermath of the 1990s war. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Ali Hasanov, Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, has said the resettlement process will begin with the advent of better weather conditions. Children of the refugees residing in the university's dormitory will continue their studies at schools in the Mushvigabad village.

Eight settlements and 4,000 apartments will be built for refugees and IDPs this year. Some 20,000 IDPs will be provided with apartments, Hasanov said.

Around 300 million manats ($382 million) was sought from the state budget for these purposes in 2013.

"Construction of a settlement with 25 five-storey buildings in Ganja and 15 five-story buildings on the site of a refugee camp in Barda is currently underway," Hasanov said.

He added that such buildings will be constructed in Absheron, Imishli, Garadagh, Ismayilli, Balaken and Gabala regions of Azerbaijan.

The state allocations for this purpose amounted to 300 million manats in 2012, which is double the amount for 2011 and 15 times above 2003, he added.

The bloody war waged by Armenia left 700,000 civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh and the regions adjoining it, as well as the regions bordering with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, without permanent places of residence. They are temporarily settled in 62 cities and regions of Azerbaijan in more than 1,600 settlements.

Moreover, 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia and became refugees due to Armenia's ethnic cleansing policy as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan emerged.

The Azerbaijanis who were displaced from their homes as result of the brutal war had to live in refugee camps, tents and wagons, in very difficult conditions.

Besides, taking into account the challenging political situation and the economic hardship facing the country, it is not difficult to imagine the challenges that these people faced.

The Azerbaijani government made the refugee and IDP problem its high priority and prepared numerous projects and programs in order to improve the living conditions of the refugees. The people who held refugee status were granted compensations and benefits. Extensive measures were initiated to ensure social protection of the refugees since Azerbaijan's oil strategy began to bear fruit.

Sixty-seven settlements and new private homes for 20,000 families were built for temporary residence of refugees and IDPs in 2001-2010 as part of the efforts to improve their living conditions.

The Azerbaijani government continues taking measures to resolve the social problems of the refugees and IDPs. Every year, a large amount of funds is allocated for this purpose from the state budget, the State Oil Fund, the state energy firm SOCAR and other sources.

The long-lasting conflict changed the destiny of these people -- they were forced to live the lives of refugees, with only a hope to return to their native lands. But the world appears to be unable to stop aggressor Armenia, which continues its hostile policy, ignoring the UN Security Council resolutions on an immediate withdrawal of its occupying armed forces from the Azerbaijani lands.