BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 26
Trend:
Whereas 7 July 1923 was a tragedy for our people, in 2021 we turned this black page. 7 July will go down in history as a great date. Because on 7 July 2021, I signed a decree on the establishment of the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic zones, and historical justice has been restored, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said attending a ceremony to give out apartments and cars to families of martyrs, war disabled and heroes of the Patriotic War in Absheron district, Trend reports.
"Unfortunately, our people have been facing injustice for many years. In the 1920s, our people suffered two major blows. First, in 1920. At that time, the Soviet government tore our historical lands of Zangazur apart from Azerbaijan and annexed it to Armenia. After that, Azerbaijanis of that region were deported.
Secondly, in 1923, an artificial entity was created in our territory – the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, although there were no grounds for its creation. There was no historical basis, there was no geographical basis, there was no economic basis. There was no basis at all. Simply put, this artificial entity was injected into our souls so that it could sit there like a ticking bomb and explode at the right time. And this is what happened. On 7 July 1923, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was established. Its central city was our Khankandi settlement. It was also named after executioner Stepan Shaumyan – Stepanakert. Our people suffered two great blows. Then there were other blows. The deportation of Azerbaijanis from the territory of Armenia – the lands of ancient Azerbaijan in 1940-1950, the rise of Armenian separatism in the late 1980s and the failure of the Soviet government to react to it. On the contrary, they provoked the separatists. Their supporters laid claims on us. The secession of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan and its annexation to Armenia was a thesis put forward in Soviet times. This thesis started floating around just two weeks after Heydar Aliyev had left power. Apparently, there had been such plans for a long time. But the Heydar Aliyev factor, his determination and strength did not allow them to stand up. It was a ticking bomb that was planted in Azerbaijan in 1923, and it exploded at that time. The then leadership of Azerbaijan was simply not ready for that or could not fulfill its duties. In some cases, there was betrayal, there was treachery. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was de facto separated from Azerbaijan even in Soviet times. A special committee was set up there. A pro-Armenian man was appointed there from Moscow to lead that committee. As a matter of fact, he joined up with the Armenians and opposed us.
The Azerbaijanis had become a defenseless community in their own homeland. The following history is known to all. We are reversing this anti-Azerbaijani policy now. We are doing things that some people never even dreamed of. Today, we have full ownership of the region, we have a say, we have liberated the occupied territories. We are now strengthening our stance these lands.
I have noticed that some foreign media saying that Azerbaijan has liberated seven districts. This is not true. We have liberated seven districts, but at the same time we have also liberated the city of Shusha, we have also liberated Hadrut, we have also liberated 60 percent of Khojavand district, we have liberated the settlement of Sugovushan. This is why we have liberated more than seven districts. The strategic importance of these districts is obvious. Everyone can look at the map and see that Azerbaijan has dominant strategic positions – both in the Karabakh region and on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. Whereas 7 July 1923 was a tragedy for our people, in 2021 we turned this black page. 7 July will go down in history as a great date. Because on 7 July 2021, I signed a decree on the establishment of the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic zones, and historical justice has been restored.
Recalling the memory of our martyrs again, I must say that you – their relatives – that are proud of them. You are rightly proud of them. All the people of Azerbaijan are proud of our martyrs and servicemen. The memory of our martyrs will live forever in our hearts," the head of state said.