BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 6
Trend:
Another important factor is associated with the Nakhchivan period of Heydar Aliyev's activity, because Nakhchivan was subjected to Armenian attacks on the one hand and unreasonable attacks and persecution by the then leadership of Azerbaijan, on the other, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party Ilham Aliyev said making a speech at the 7th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) held in a video format, Trend reports.
“Nakhchivan, which actually found itself in the conditions of a blockade, lived without electricity, gas, water, without any material opportunities, and the Heydar Aliyev factor played the main role here. No matter how hard the Armenians tried, they failed to achieve what they wanted in Nakhchivan even though Nakhchivan was the target of their further attacks after Karabakh. Heydar Aliyev and the people rallied around him managed to defend Nakhchivan, put the enemy in its place and win fierce battles on the border,” the Azerbaijani president said.
“At the same time, the great leader’s unambiguous and resolute steps related to independence were highly appreciated by the people. At that time, a referendum on the preservation of the Soviet Union was held in the Republic of Azerbaijan and its results were grossly falsified. Allegedly, the Azerbaijani people did not want independence and preferred to live within the Soviet Union. It was absurd because the events of 20 January had taken place quite recently. The injustice is shown in relation to Azerbaijan, the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh and then from adjacent districts, the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia – all this remained a wound in the hearts of the Azerbaijani people. Could any patriot vote against independence under such circumstances? So it was completely falsified. In the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Heydar Aliyev did not allow this referendum to be held. This was a step that required great courage and heroism. At the same time, the leadership, which was in Baku under the flag of Soviet Azerbaijan at that time, was trying hard to hold on to the past, as if it did not want to let it go. On the instruction and initiative of Heydar Aliyev, the tricolor flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was approved as an official flag in Nakhchivan, and the collapse of the Soviet Union was still a long way off,” the head of state said.