BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 8. In the early
1990s, as a result of Armenia’s occupation policy against
Azerbaijan, approximately 20 percent of our territories fell under
occupation. One million Azerbaijani citizens were turned into
refugees and internally displaced persons, President Ilham Aliyev
said during his speech at the military parade dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the
Victory in the Patriotic War, Trend reports.
Speech by President Ilham Aliyev
– Dear servicemen.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I sincerely congratulate you and the entire Azerbaijani people
on the fifth anniversary of our glorious Victory. I also warmly
welcome the leaders and delegations of the fraternal countries who
have accepted my invitation.
Today, my dear brother, the President of the Republic of
Türkiye, esteemed Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is participating in our
parade. From the very first hours of the Second Karabakh War, my
dear brother showed his support for Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani
people and the Azerbaijani Army. His political and moral support
gave us further strength and inspiration. The fraternal Turkish
people have consistently supported Azerbaijan under the leadership
of esteemed President Erdogan. His statement during the war that
“Azerbaijan is not alone, Turkiye is with Azerbaijan!” was a very
serious message to the whole world. The Azerbaijani people will
never forget this fraternal support.
One year after the war and our glorious Victory, the presidents
of Turkiye and Azerbaijan signed the Shusha Declaration in the
historic city of Shusha, raising our relations to the highest level
– that of an alliance. Today, the participation of Turkish soldiers
in our military parade is yet another manifestation of our
unity.
Five years ago, my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also
with us in the Victory Parade. Today, another dear brother is
participating here with us. The Prime Minister of brotherly
Pakistan, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, is our guest. The state and
people of Pakistan showed great support and solidarity with
Azerbaijan during the 44-day Patriotic War. Today, for the first
time, Pakistani soldiers are also participating in the event with
us at Azadlig Square. This is a manifestation of the unity of the
peoples and armies of three countries – Azerbaijan, Turkiye and
Pakistan.
I welcome all the guests from friendly countries. Their presence
here with us today once again clearly demonstrates our unity,
solidarity and mutual support.
In the early 1990s, as a result of Armenia’s policy of
aggression against Azerbaijan, approximately 20 percent of our
territory was occupied. One million Azerbaijani citizens became
refugees and internally displaced. War crimes were committed
against our people. The Khojaly genocide was committed, a policy of
ethnic cleansing was carried out. But this did not break our will.
Azerbaijan never intended to come to terms with the occupation. And
while we were conducting peace negotiations, we consistently stated
that if the negotiations failed to yield results, Azerbaijan would
liberate its historical and ancestral lands by all means, including
military force.
The result of the lengthy negotiations was zero progress. The
main reason for that was that Armenia had no intention of vacating
even an inch of our land of its own accord. Some states supporting
Armenia stood in solidarity with them by providing political,
economic and military support. Their idea was to sever our
ancestral Garabagh land from Azerbaijan and annex it to Armenia.
Our policy was to restore our full territorial integrity and
sovereignty. Back in 2003, when I was first elected President of
Azerbaijan, I declared that we would liberate our native land at
any cost. We gathered strength and multiplied it month after month,
year after year. We were able to make our voice heard in the
international arena. Our country’s position on the conflict within
all leading international organizations took precedence. Many
decisions and resolutions formed the legal and political basis of
our Victory. We built a strong economy — had we not done so, our
financial capacity would have remained very limited. We had gained
economic independence, and Azerbaijan today is not economically
dependent on any country. This gave us greater political power. We
were a country pursuing an independent policy. These factors, along
with others, brought us closer to the glorious Victory.
Public and political stability was fully established in
Azerbaijan. Civil solidarity, civil unity, the unity between the
people and the government have been the key factors. We have raised
the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism, in the spirit
of love for the Motherland, and our young people, putting their
chests forward and going under the bullets for 44 days, liberated
our historical lands from the occupiers. Patriotism and our moral
qualities are some of the key factors behind our glorious
Victory.
We have successfully implemented energy and transport projects,
becoming an indispensable country for many countries across a vast
geography. Along with all these factors, army building was always a
priority. We have created a strong army, strong Armed Forces. We
have increased the combat capability of our army, equipped our army
with the most modern weaponry and ammunition. All these and other
factors paved the way for our Victory, for our glorious
Victory.
Armenia, however, failed to draw the right conclusions and, in
the run-up to the Second Karabakh War, became even more impudent by
putting forward new territorial claims against us. They were
threatening us with a new war. They even said that they would wage
a new war for new lands and occupy all of Azerbaijan. They said
that their tanks would be on the streets of Baku. They said that
they would be drinking tea in Baku. In fact, their dreams did come
true. We made them come true. Their tanks are on display in the
Military Trophies Park today. Armenian war criminals are standing
trial in Baku and drinking Azerbaijani tea in the pre-trial
detention center.
For 44 days, our glorious Armed Forces moved forward every day,
not taking a single step back. They showed great professionalism,
courage, heroism and selflessness. May Allah rest the souls of all
our martyrs in peace. We have asserted ourselves in the whole world
as a strong state and a victorious people. We have proven this on
the battlefield. Over the course of the 44 days, more than 300
cities and villages were liberated from the enemy on the
battlefield. We were pushing forward, chasing the enemy, and every
liberated city and village, every Azerbaijani Flag raised there
inspired our Army and people even more. Finally, on November 8, the
city of Shusha, which was considered an “impregnable fortress”, was
liberated from Armenian occupiers. Our glorious Victory March
continued successfully from September 27 to November 8. We kept
advancing towards the glorious Victory, crossing mountains, rivers
and valleys, climbing steep rocks. The liberation of Shusha exactly
five years ago broke the back of the Armenian army, and after that
they surrendered. A day later, on the night of November 9-10,
Armenia officially surrendered and signed an act of capitulation.
Thus, we restored our territorial integrity, historical justice,
international law and national dignity ourselves.
Today, Garabagh and East Zangazur are reviving. Today, the Great
Return Program is well underway. Schools, hospitals, industrial
enterprises, power plants, reservoirs, houses are under
construction. More than 60,000 people already live, work and study
in the liberated lands. I congratulate my dear people on all these
historic achievements once again. We have lived these five years
with tremendous pride. I am sure that from now on, the Azerbaijani
people will forever live as a heroic and victorious people, and the
Azerbaijani state as a victorious state. We, the owners of these
lands, have returned to Garabagh and East Zangazur, and we will
live forever on these lands from now on. The Azerbaijani Flag will
forever fly over them.
I once again sincerely congratulate the entire Azerbaijani
people on the occasion of our glorious Victory. I wish the
Azerbaijani people good health and continued success. Garabagh is
Azerbaijan!
