The UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Ms. Vladanka Andreeva was a guest of the International Eurasia Press Fund. IEPF President Umud Mirzayev welcomed the UN official at the IEPF's head office in Baku. Ednews reports that Vladanka Andreyeva first congratulated Umud Mirzayev on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the organization and received information about the activities of the non-governmental organization with an international status, which was created during the most difficult period of times in Azerbaijan.
In his turn, the IEPF president told the guest about the need for objective information in the early 90s in Azerbaijan, including the Caucasus and post-Soviet regions, regarding the creation of the organization.
"The International Eurasia Press Fund was established in 1992 thanks to the joint initiative of well-known journalists and public figures representing different countries of the world. At that time, our resources were very few, but there was a great need to create an organization," Umud Mirzayev stressed.
While explaining the reasons for the creation of the organization, U.Mirzayev also mentioned the need to create such organizations in the post-Soviet area in order to accurately deliver information to the world community.
"At that time, it was the peak period of the Karabakh conflict. I remember, 3 days before the occupation of Shusha, I was there with a group of well-known journalists and activists from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. The Armenian occupation had already begun to completely cover Karabakh. However, the world community did not know about it and there was a lack of information. At that time, we created the International Eurasia Press Fund."
Umud Mirzayev, while talking to the guest, emphasized that he was one of the direct victims of this war. He also spoke about the deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, who had to then move to Karabakh.
During the meeting, Umud Mirzayev also spoke about the organization's involvement in a number of important projects related to the mine issues. He spoke about the work done in the projects implemented with the joint support of UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, the European Union and the US State Department, including team activities in demining the Karabakh territories released from occupation, the former contact area and a number of villages and towns. He brought to the guest's attention that he has been participating in the mine problem initiative together with ANAMA since 2003 and formed the Community Mine Action Team for this purpose.
Ms. Vladanka Andreeva, UN Resident Coordinator, thanked Umud Mirzayev for the invitation. She noted that she considers IEPF's activities related to all programs and projects to be commendable.
"In general, it is very important to support the activities of both civil societies and ANAMA in demining areas and raising awareness about the threat of mine. I consider your works related to demining and awareness raising about the danger of landmines, as well as your cooperation with the UN, to be commendable. I was recently given a small piece of an exploded mine as a gift. When I looked at it, that piece of mine reminded me once again how important the work done by the government in the territories released from occupation is."
The UN official also said that the UN will continue to support ANAMA, which deals directly with the government and landmine issues. She showed support in these cases and noted that equal steps will be taken to accelerate the return of refugees and IDPs to their homes.
Shamsiya Mustafayeva, Adviser on Coordination at the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, and Rashad Huseynov, the Azerbaijani representative of the UN Global Communications Department, also participated in the meeting. IEPF president Umud Mirzayev introduced the guests to the office and presented a number of visual aids to the guests about the work done.
Later, the UN official expressed her satisfaction with the invitation to the 30th anniversary of IEPF scheduled to be held on October 14. The guest also invited Umud Mirzayev to the event planned to be held at the end of October in connection with the celebration of the UN Day. The parties also held joint discussions on future cooperation prospects.
By Elnur Enveroglu
