“It would be somewhat arrogant for me to address humanity. As you know, I have always tried not to lose my humility. I have been in this position for nearly 23 years now. Our people know well where Azerbaijan has come from and where it is today over these years.”
elchi reports that President Ilham Aliyev said this at the opening ceremony of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum.
The head of state recalled his many addresses to the Azerbaijani people at different times: “I have had addresses both during the period of occupation and war, and after the war. Of course, these addresses differed after the war because we were in a different situation. During the occupation, in my meetings with former internally displaced persons, my message was for them not to lose hope, to keep their will strong, and to believe in me that we would return to these lands. I have spoken about this several times, and I can say that as the years passed, I saw their hope slowly fading. The sorrow and despair in people’s eyes were more noticeable. I could not tell them when, how, or what would happen. I told them to believe, and they did. 17 years is not a short time. They waited and believed in my words, and they always supported the work being done. My addresses during the war are also events of recent history; I do not want to repeat them.”
President Ilham Aliyev noted that the post-war period has been very difficult: “Although not as difficult as the war, it was very challenging. The results of the war had to be accepted by the international community. There were quite powerful states, circles, and individuals who did not want to accept it. There were attempts to organize various provocations to take our victory away from us, to make it incomplete, or to keep Azerbaijan in a dependent state so that it would not achieve the restoration of full justice. We remember all this well. My message was that we should not celebrate the victory in the war just yet. Let us be more active. Because there is still a lot of work to be done. A group of former internally displaced persons also believed in these words and waited for the day they would return to their native ancestral lands. During a meeting with a group of former internally displaced persons on Saturday in the villages of Qaladeresi, Guney Xirman, and Quzey Xirman, I said that when the war ended in 2020 and we won, these lands were still under occupation. But you believed that the day would come when we would return to these lands, and that day has come. Although my messages have been different, their main theme remains unchanged. And that is that we can only rely on ourselves. I spoke about this today. Although Azerbaijan has had vast natural resources, for many years none of them played any role in the development of the Azerbaijani people or the development of the then-non-independent republic of Azerbaijan in the true sense of the word. We gave more to the all-union budget than we received. Oil was taken away. The city of Sumgayit was subjected to an ecological disaster. As a result, when the Soviet Union collapsed, everything was in ruins, and our lands were lost. We must rely only on ourselves and our state. Unity must never be shaken. Perhaps it does not sound very logical to say this today, because it is difficult to find a picture similar to the unity in Azerbaijani society. Because this is something that comes from the heart, from people’s minds, and is like the confluence of two rivers. Both in heart and in thought. We must look to the future; the world is changing. New threats and provocations are emerging. If anyone thinks that the forces that do not wish us well will leave us alone, they should know that this will never happen. This struggle must be constant.
The struggle is to protect our rights, our national identity, and to keep our independence in our own hands. There are many examples where leaders of some countries take shelter under someone’s wing and think that it will protect them. But in the end, they become victims of big games. Our people have seen occupation, destruction, Victory, and today they see this period of restoration and revival and are participants in this process.”
The President of Azerbaijan addressed the younger generation, calling on them to prioritize national identity above all else: “National dignity must be above all else. You can be defeated; such things happen. But you must never bend or break. You must never agree with the occupier. You must not sit and stand at the dictate of the occupier. Our future development will be linked to the younger generation. In some 20, 30, 50 years, they must be like us. Attached to the Motherland, steadfast, strong-willed, and powerful so that Azerbaijan is always at the heights.”