Azerbaijan, From Liberation, Now Focusing On Post-War Reconstruction

By R. Ravichandran KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Malaysia Prof Qaley Allahverdiyev said Malaysian companies could explore the possibility of participating in post-war reconstruction works in the recently-liberated areas of Azerbaijan, previously occupied by Armenian for almost 30 years. Allahverdiyev said under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan successfully managed to liberate occupied areas and take control of Aghdam, Lachin, and Kalbajar without firing a single shot – and now focusing on post-war reconstruction works. The ambassador said President Aliyev has a clear social and economic vision to redevelop these areas. Allahverdiyev said after the liberation of the occupied areas following the recent war with Armenia, the President – along with First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also the country’s first vice president – had visited some of the areas to see for themselves the conditions and the level of destruction left by years of occupation. He said that the President had also stated that Azerbaijan will revive and restore all of its territories liberated from Armenian occupation and that the government have major plans for the restoration of these lands. Allahverdiyev said that many social and economic infrastructures such as buildings, roads, religious places, houses, bridges and communication links have been destroyed during the occupation of these areas. Allahverdiyev, who is also the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Malaysia, said that Malaysian companies with good financial standing and good track record undertaking construction and infrastructure works could explore the possibility of participating in the post-war reconstruction works. Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that following the 44-day war which erupted on September 27, Azerbaijan liberated five city-centres, four towns, and 286 villages. In one of its reports, AA also said that a new road is being built in Shusha after it was liberated by Azerbaijan. President Aliyev had laid the foundation of the new road that will start from the village of Ahmetbeyli in the Fuzuli province, pass through the city centre of Fuzuli and 20 settlements, and finally connect to Shusha. The November 10 trilateral agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia – where Azerbaijan were allowed to keep all the areas it liberated, and which also made Armenia to hand over Aghdam, Lachin and Kalbajar – is widely seen as a defeat for Armenia and as a victory for Azerbaijan. Allahverdiyev said that following some initial assessments by several sources, the total damage caused to Azerbaijan by Armenian occupation run into hundreds of billions of dollars. "But of course, the final assessment will be declared by the Government of Azerbaijan upon joint field studies with reliable international organisations," he told Bernama in an interview at his office, here. Referring to Aghdam city, one of the liberated cities, to describe the level of destruction left by Armenian occupation, Allahverdiyev said that the city was so devastated that it is now sometimes called as the "Hiroshima of the Caucasus." "Aghdam, with a population of 40,000 in the late 1980s, is now a ghost town. Aghdam was the Azerbaijani fortress, located half an hour from Khankendi, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said. In addition to that, the Ambassador pointed out that the occupation also caused huge environmental damages to Azerbaijan. "In this regard, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev, in one of his interviews, stated that Armenians are damaging the environment and civilian objects. Environmental damage, ‘ecological terror’, must be prevented," the ambassador said. "So many damages have been done during the occupation...we are shocked to see what they did during those occupation years, and just before leaving these areas recently". "Before they left the liberated areas, they set houses and buildings on fire...they even cut down trees and taking it away with them," Allahverdiyev said. According to the figures of Azerbaijan State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) made available by the Azerbaijan Embassy in Malaysia, from 1988 to 1993, 900 settlements, 150 residential buildings, 7,000 public buildings, 693 schools, 855 kindergartens, 695 health-care facilities, 927 libraries, 44 temples, 9 mosques, 473 historical monuments, palaces and museums, 40,000 museum exhibits, 6,000 industrial and agricultural facilities, 160 bridges and other infrastructure facilities were destroyed in Karabakh. Allahverdiyev, who is also accredited as his country's Ambassador to Brunei, Thailand and Myanmar, also said that beyond the registered refugees, according to various official reports, there are approximately 800,000 Azerbaijani who fled the occupied territories from beginning of the war with Armenia until the ceasefire in 1994. As such Allahverdiyev said that there is a greater need for reconstruction and redevelopment of the liberated areas before those people affected by the occupation could return back to settle peacefully and restart their livelihoods. The ambassador said the embassy is ready to provide necessary information and assistance within its capacity for any Malaysian companies interested to participate in reconstruction works. Allahverdiyev said that Baku always appreciates the unanimous and strong position by Malaysia in supporting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity all these years. Azerbaijan, with a population of some 10 million people, is located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. The country is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east and is rich with oil and gas, which is the mainstay of its economy – and Petronas has a presence there. The mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, which constitute about 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory, are internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia until the recent liberation. The protracted conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia started in 1988 – three years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1992, a full-scale war broke out between the two former Soviet states until a ceasefire signed in May 1994. In 1991, the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence but the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is not recognised by any country in the world. -- BERNAMA