“Today, the independent Azerbaijani state has not only sufficiently strengthened its positions on the world stage, but is also capable of achieving any result.”
President Ilham Aliyev
On May 28, 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), which established the first democratic and secular state in the Muslim East, realized our people’s desire for independence with a determination for sovereignty and continued our centuries-old traditions of statehood.
The establishment of the Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan’s declaration of independence was by no means a random event. Although Azerbaijan’s history of statehood has passed through difficult trials for centuries, it was impossible to break the national will of our people, and the desire for independence, freedom, and statehood never wavered. As a logical result of the national awakening, national revival, and feelings of freedom that gained momentum in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Azerbaijan demonstrated to the world in 1918 that it was capable of determining its own destiny.
Despite existing for only 23 months, during a difficult historical period, Azerbaijan’s first parliament and government were created, state attributes were established, national army building was carried out, consistent reforms were conducted towards the creation of important state institutions and bodies, and programs were adopted in the fields of science, education, healthcare, and culture. The nationalization of schools and the transition to education in the native language were initiated.
The loss of our independence in April 1920 also led to the violation of our state’s geographical integrity, and our historical lands were forcibly torn away from Azerbaijan.
The fall of the ADR did not mean the loss of the Azerbaijani people’s idea of a national state; our people always preserved their aspiration for independent statehood and took decisive steps towards the development of the national spirit during the period we were part of the Soviet empire.
During his first leadership of Azerbaijan, National Leader Heydar Aliyev restored the historical and cultural memory of our people, developed their national consciousness, worked tirelessly with a determination for national statehood, strengthened the aspirations for independence in the light of the ideology of Azerbaijanism, and created the national attributes of the future independent state. It was the stable economy and industry, national-cultural revival, national self-awareness, and national spirit created during his time that led to the realization of the idea of statehood that the Azerbaijani people kept in their hearts.
For the first time, our tricolor flag was officially approved by Heydar Aliyev on November 17, 1990, as the state flag of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. With this, the foundation of the path to independence was laid.
Taking such a courageous step even while the Soviet Union existed once again confirmed how attached the Great Leader was to his people and state, and how courageous and unyielding he was on this path. The raising of the Democratic Republic’s tricolor flag for the first time after 70 years opened a glorious path leading to the restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence.
Although achieving independence is a complex process, preserving it is a more difficult and responsible task. Thanks to the Great Leader, who returned to power at the call of the people during that difficult and critical moment, fulfilled his mission of salvation in 1993, and took ownership of our state, Azerbaijan’s true, eternal, and irreversible independence was established.
A wise thought of the Great Leader always retains its relevance as a national-political event. His maxim, “Protecting and maintaining independence was a task many times more difficult than achieving that independence,” embodies the essence of the determination for statehood and the meaning of possessing a state.
Indeed, protecting the achieved independence like the apple of one’s eye and strengthening it became possible thanks to two great personalities, individuals of decisive political will and selfless Leaders, such as Heydar Aliyev and Ilham Aliyev.
Victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, by ensuring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and state sovereignty, succeeded in waving our tricolor flag across all our lands and along our state borders. This is an example of deep trust and loyalty to national heritage and state attributes, and President Ilham Aliyev’s unforgettable legacy of statehood for future generations.
May 28 is celebrated every year in our country as Independence Day. This state holiday symbolizes the triumph of our people’s national awakening, freedom, and determination for sovereignty, as well as our traditions of statehood and national pride.
Ramid Namazov
Milli Məclisin deputatı