Afghan veterans complain to Putin

A group of soldiers-internationalists adopted an appeal to the President of the Russian Federation, V.Putin,  on the eve of his visit to Azerbaijan. 

The appeal says that nearly 10,000 Azerbaijanis were  combatants in Afghanistan, and  most of them were awarded orders and medals;  208 Azerbaijani died in combat, and 417 were disabled.

Warrior-internationalists complain about the deterioration of  the attitude towards  them by  the authorities of Azerbaijan.

Despite  the "Agreement on Mutual Recognition of benefits and guarantees for the participants and invalids of the Great Patriotic War, the combatants in other states, families of the dead soldiers" from April 15, 1994,  which Azerbaijan joined  on February 13, 1997, the  former Afghan combatants are deprived of privileges. The veterans' certificates issued in the Soviet time are considered invalid, and  are not  replaced by the standard  national forms.

"In fact,  they do not recognize us veterans, and repeated appeals to various state agencies and to the president of the country, remain unanswered,"  reads the statement.

The authors  of the appeal remind that on April 5 this year, 500 veterans  held a protest  action in front of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan. In response, they were promised  that all their problems will be addressed  during 20-day period.

"We were accused of pro-Russian sentiments, we are told - once we served during soviet times, let  Russia help us," the statement reads. 

They asked Vladimir Putin to help  to achieve benefits for the health deteriorated during service in the Armed Forces of the USSR. "It is possible that  we all and  our families, will refuse the Azerbaijani citizenship, and turn to you to provide us with shelter,"  said the appeal, signed by 45 veterans- combatants  in Afghanistan.  -04D-