The chairman of the Justice, Law, Democracy (AHD) Party and Member of Parliament, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, has issued a statement to the party’s press service.
“Elchi” presents the statement:
– Gudrat bey, Elchibey’s birthday is approaching, and you were his advisor in the PFA. Who is Elchibey to you?
– Although Elchibey was not successful as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, he is a historical figure who left a great mark on our state life as the leader of the National Liberation Movement (PFA), which played an exceptional role in restoring Azerbaijan’s independence and preventing the legal transfer of Karabakh to Armenia by the Soviet leadership and the Western countries supporting them.
All political forces should embrace the political legacy of historical figures, and they should be commemorated with great respect and reverence. As president, Elchibey wanted to build a state based on the rule of law and protect the territorial integrity of our state; because of this, sanctions were imposed on Azerbaijan by the US Congress, which acted out of Christian solidarity under the influence of the Armenian lobby. Unfortunately, the 907th amendment to the Freedom Support Act has still not been repealed today. In our modern history, the first great historical figure was Rasulzade. Under his leadership, the independent Azerbaijani state was established. Under Elchibey’s leadership, we restored our state independence and our Turkish national identity. Another historical figure, Heydar Aliyev, saved the country from civil war, preserved Azerbaijani statehood, made great powers interested in stability in our country by signing the “Contract of the Century,” and set the country on a path of peaceful development. Today, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, ended the Armenian occupation, cleared the separatists from Karabakh, and played an exceptional role in the creation and development of the Organization of Turkic States. Since Ilham Aliyev is the incumbent president, it is very normal for political forces in opposition to him to operate, but it is everyone’s duty to show him respect and reverence, just as with the other historical figures I mentioned above. Our people and all political forces must embrace the political legacy of historical figures. Politicians and political parties can compete with each other, they may not like each other, or even hate each other. But for the creation and strengthening of statehood traditions in Azerbaijan, we must commemorate historical figures with respect and esteem. Historical figures are history itself, so no one has the power to erase historical figures from our people’s history, or to make them forgotten, even temporarily, or to diminish their services. We can be greater and stronger by giving all our historical figures the high appreciation they deserve. It is a big mistake to tie historical figures to a single political force.
I congratulate our people on the occasion of Elchibey’s birthday!