October 5, 2004

Karabagh Mine Clearing Specialist Visits San Francisco

San Francisco, Sept. 8, 2004 - Bay Area Armenian-Americans learned about the efforts underway in Artsakh to rid the country of dangerous landmines. Kurt Chesko, the Program Officer for the demining agency HALO gave a presentation to Bay Area Armenian-Americans about the extent of the problem of landmines in Artsakh and the effort to clear them.  The event was hosted by the Bay Area Armenian National Committee at San Francisco's Vaspouragan Hall.
 

Chesko spent two months this past fall.  With the permission and cooperation of the government of Artsakh, HALO has been working in the country since 1995, when it conducted an 18-month program surveying the region and equipping and training deminers. By 1999, the deminers had successfully cleared hundreds of mines.  HALO returned to Artsakh in 2000 with a project of re-equipment, providing additional training, and establishing a "mine action center," which collects and maintains information about the mines, safe routes, etc.  In addition to landmines, unexploded ordnance is also cleared.

In Artsakh, both Azeri and Armenian forces laid minefields. In many areas, access to prime agricultural land is denied and many farmers and villagers have been wounded by their inadvertent detonation of the hidden mines. In the first quarter of 2004 alone, mines were responsible for 8 deaths and 10 injuries in Artsakh. Aid organizations in the region have also been forced to restrict their operations due to fears of landmines on or just beside roads and the presence of unexploded ordnance.
 

Chesko explained that there are several kinds of mines in Artsakh, the most common of which is the "Osean 72" which explodes when stepped on, throwing shrapnel in all directions.  He said the worst problem is the anti-tank mines, which are extremely destructive, carrying 10 lbs of explosive, and which are not as easily detected by the mine clearing equipment.
 

HALO employs a team of 186 local Armenian men and women in Artsakh, including mine clearers, medics, drivers, and teachers who educate communities about how to protect themselves against the landmines. The deminers are organized into units of 8, each with a team leader. Many of the deminers are former soldiers.  The deminers receive 2-4 weeks training, and longer for those working as medics or those needing training on the clearance of other types of ordnances, like grenades, small rockets, etc.

To clear the mines, HALO first surveys an area, talking to farmers to understand where the mines are located.  The organization then ranks the area according to the urgency for demining - #1 being an area of high population, and #5, lowest population. 
 

"We're not clearing the mines they need for defense," said Chesko. "Those on the front lines are not touched. Those areas are not a priority for us."  He also said that neighboring Azerbaijan which has a similar or worse mine problem has refused HALO's offer of demining and has expressed strong opposition to the ongoing demining efforts in Artsakh.

Chesko displayed photo slides illustrating examples of damage done by exploded mines: a farmer’s flock of sheep killed, villagers without limbs, damaged farm equipment. He also displayed the simple tools used by the deminers:  metal detectors, Kevlar vests, small shovels, and protective headgear.  The workers cordon-off the area to be demined, in lanes of one meter in width, and each worker slowly waves the metal detector along his/her lane.  When a mine is detected, the worker carefully digs the dirt until the side of the mine is exposed.  An explosive puts a charge near the mine and it is exploded and removed.

The deminers are able to clear approximately 18,000 square meters per day. To date, 11,000 acres in Artsakh have been cleared of mines.  HALO predicts the need for 4-6 more years of demining in order to rid the problem in Artsakh.

The HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life Support Organization) is a not-for-profit NGO (non-governmental organization) with over 5,500 mineclearers in 9 countries in Central and Southeast, Africa, the Caucasus & Balkans.  HALO's 2004 budget for Artsakh is financed by the Dutch government ($574,000), USAID ($450,000) and the Cafesjian Fund ($60,000).

Chesko said HALO's administration rate is 7%, with 93% of its funding going directly to clearance efforts.  Artsakh's deminers are paid $175 per month, a payment calculated to support 12 family members.  If workers are injured to the extent they can no longer work as a deminer, they are compensated with $3,000.

Chesko plans on returning to Artsakh next year.