Restoring Donbas: main events November 2-8

9:10 / 09 Nov. 2015 / 988

On controlled part of Donbas unemployment continues growing, in Donetsk counted nearly 2 thousand damaged houses, and the UN declared that exhausted its opportunities in assistance to IDPs. We will tell about these and other important events in our news review.

The situation on Donbas territory under Ukrainian control

For all time of the military conflict on Donbas leading branches of production losses in Donetsk region with account inflation and devaluation of national currency made nearly 50-60%. Such data last week were submitted by the national expert of PROON Alina Boyko.

Due to the economic losses in the territories of Donbas, which remained under Ukrainian control, number of the unemployed continues growing. According to the vice-president of Lugansk regional military-civil authorities Olga Lishik, considerably worsened a situation in Lysychansk, where the large enterprises were compelled to dismiss part of the employees.

Not the best situation developed and in Donetsk region. According to Donetsk regional jobcenter More than 7 thousand people have the unemployed status. It is among IDPs from the uncontrolled territories. Such number of unemployed explaned by the decline in production, reduction the number of workers and destroyed infrastructure. Only in Donetsk region, a third of all highways is destroyed or damaged.

Meanwhile, with tendencies of recession in the region also economic changes are outlined. At least — in a question of enterprises working format. Therefore, last week it became known that the management of Donetsk region wants to unite all mines in one company, which will have an opportunity to realize production and to dispose of, means itself. It is about returning of coalfields and the central concentrating factories to the mines and state ownership, and their entry into the new company structure.

Besides the solution of problems in economy and employment, significant role шт life of the region has to play the fastest mine clearing , and also informing the population about this threat. According to the latest data, sappers found about 270 mines  while clearing the gas pipeline in the city of Marinka in Donetsk region, which is on the front line. Meanwhile in Donbass 200 thousand children are in danger because of insufficient awareness about mining.

On the uncontrolled territory of Donbas

Only in Donetsk, nearly 2000 houses are damaged during an active phase of opposition. Representatives of DPR sounded such data referring to their calculations. Thus, they noted that repairing of these houses is provided at the second and third stages of restoration, though in the management of DPR repeatedly declared about shortage of construction materials.

Deficiency on the uncontrollable territory exists not only in building materials, but also in experts. Shortage of health workers only in Gorlovka today makes more than 1200 people. Because of that in policlinics huge turns of patients are being built.

Social tension in the region smoothes that fact, that the Verkhovna Rada adopted the important bill, that acts of the inhabitants’ birth and death   on uncontrollable part of Donbas is resumed. It is expected that realization of the bill will allow to provide realization of the citizens’ rights, on obtaining birth and death certificates due to the lack of the appropriate medical documents provided by the legislation of Ukraine.

Better situation in the economic sphere of region. Therefore, it became known, that for 2015 year the “respublic” coal-mining enterprises extracted 7 million 339 thousand 914 tons of coal. Thus, on the uncontrolled territories proceeds railway restoration between regions. For example, from Debaltseve now is possible to reach the settlements of Fashchevka and Depreradovka of the Luhansk by an electric train.

Among political statements from uncontrollable territories became key the statement of DPR’s representative Denis Pushilin. He sounded conditions for elections on the part of Donbas uncontrollable to Ukraine. It is about preceding the amnesty for fighters.

Besides, last week Pushilin also commented possibility of working the UN officials on DPR territories. In particular, he declared that DPR will cooperate with the UN in the humanitarian sphere only within the existing “rules about accreditation of international missions”.

Humanitarian aid

This time the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, humanitarian issues coordinator Stephen O’Brien called for steady and easy access to the unprotected population, which appeared in epicenter of the conflict and needing urgent humanitarian aid. At the same time in the UN declared, that they exhausted their opportunities to assist refugees and IDPs. According to the UN High Commissioner for affairs of refugees António Guterres, there are 60 million refugees and internally displaced persons in the world this time, thus the flow of people continues increasing. It means that every 30th IDP and refugee in the world — is from Donbas.

Without opportunities to work on uncontrollable territories, and in the conditions of impossibility to provide direct humanitarian aid to all, who is needed, the UN keeps activity in other parts of Donbas and makes emphasis on the developing projects. So, last week the UN program of development in Ukraine declared results of the competition ” Infrastructure development and Business support in Donetsk and Lugansk regions” financed by the government of Japan. Total amount of a grant made nearly 11 million hryvnias. These means will be used for implementation of various projects aimed on regional economy development, support of small and medium-sized enterprises, general business climate improvement.

Other representatives of the international community work actively with residents of Donbas and IDPs also. So, according to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Council of Europe Niels Muzhniyeks, at least five million people in the east of Ukraine are in great need of humanitarian assistance. By estimates of the commissioner, about 1,3 million residents of Donbas remained without clear water. Many clinics and child educational institutions were destroyed, as a result of attacks. Only in Kramatorsk 30 schools and 20 kindergartens were suffered. In the majority of settlements, medical care considerably worsened, and prices for the main food sharply increased.

Last week Kiev was visited by delegation of deputies from the European parliament, which transferred symbolical humanitarian aid to displaced persons from Donbas. Freight was brought to the volunteer center located in Kiev on Frolovskaya St. 9/11.

Demarcation line and weapons withdrawal

The situation on the line of differentiation and in particular — on the established points of crossing became one of the key subjects of last week. For last week they were crossed by nearly 100 thousand people and 23 thousand vehicles. According to frontier guards, average daily crossings through KPVV is from 12 to 14 thousand people and up to 4 thousand vehicles.

Thus all week on the front line huge turns were fixed. So, on Wednesday in control point Mayorsk the huge line of about 500-600 people was formed again. About it “Restoring Donbas” was reported by eyewitnesses. Then on Wednesday the big turn was recorded on the Mariupol direction. Some people were compelled to spend the night in cars before a block post.

This situation was not improved by opening the check point “Kurakhovo” on the Zaporozhye direction in the Maryinka region near Donetsk. Turns on this block post also arise, but in comparison with the most popular directions — district of Mayorsk and Volnovakha – here is much less of them. The first people, which passed the front line through an opened checkpoint, said that spent for it about 30 minutes. However now journey through this block post takes about 4 hours.

The state frontier service considers possibility of opening new and resumption of existing check points in the anti-terrorist operation zone. Possibility of capacity increasing in the checkpoint Gnutovo  on the Mariupol direction is considered and work for points opening on the Lisichansk direction is conducted. However, any terms of realization wasn’t called.

Citizens revolted with a situation on the front line submitted in official Internet petition representation to the President of Ukraine against turns on checkpoints in the anti-terrorist operation zone. In in the petition is specified, that systematic turns on check without any conditions of being, is violating the rights of Ukrainian citizens for free movement.

Meanwhile on the front line proceeds withdrawal of arms by both sides of the conflict. On November 5  Ukrainian side began withdrawal of arms caliber less than 120 mm from the demarcation line in the anti-terrorist operation zone on Artemivsk the direction in Donetsk region. Also forces of anti-terrorist operation finished withdrawal of arms less than 100 mm in sector “M”, near Mariupol. The armed divisions of DPR, promised to withdraw arms by November 12, after that Minsk arrangements can be considered as completed.

IDPs from Donbas

Last week the parliament adopted the Law “About Modification of Some Laws of Ukraine concerning Strengthening a Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms Observance for Internally Displaced Persons”. New rules specify concept of the internally displaced person, will improve a question and procedure of obtaining the IDP reference, cancel period of such reference validity and the place of residence registration etc. The detailed analysis of the adopted law made lawyers from community initiative “Restoring Donbas”. Thus experts from the organization doubted in ability of the government to realize the innovations accepted by Rada and urged the Cabinet of Ministers to liquidate gaps in work with IDPs.

Thus IDPs start coming back home, in the conditions of calm in the anti-terrorist operation zone. Though this process has no mass character; it is already reflected on statistics. So, according to “Restoring Donbas” in October the IDP’s who live on controlled parts of Donbass started coming back in large quantities to their houses in the anti-terrorist operation zone. So, in the last week of month more than 7 thousand IDPs, who lived in Donetsk region, left it. Thus a similar mass gain of IDPs in other regions of Ukraine was not observed, and it testifies that the majority from these 7 thousand came back home, on uncontrollable territories of Donbas.

International negotiations

Political process around the situation on Donbas and, in particular a format of the international negotiations proved poorly. Last week at the meeting of Foreign Ministers of “Norman four” a number of arrangements was reached. First of all, Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the “Norman four” on Friday discussed a question of infrastructure restoration which was injured during military operations in east of Ukraine. Also sides agreed to finish work on the agreement about mine clearing on Donbas, until the end of November.

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