BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 18. Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova has delivered a speech at 80th Victory over Fascism Ceremonial Meeting of CIS IPA during her working visit to Russia, a source in the parliament told Trend.
More than 170,000 Azerbaijani soldiers and officers were decorated with various orders and medals. The 77th, 223th, 402nd and 416th national rifle divisions made up of Azerbaijani recruits and volunteers demonstrated unparalleled heroism and valour in the battles and wrote their names in history in golden letters.
Gafarova said that the Azerbaijani divisions had covered the glorious path of combat from the Caucasus to Berlin. They fought for Moscow, Leningrad, Brest, Kyiv, Stalingrad, Simferopol, Odessa and hundreds of other towns and locations. Azerbaijani compatriots were actively involved in the liberation of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and other countries, and displayed innumerable examples of heroism in the guerrilla movement.
According to the speaker, in its struggle against Fascism Azerbaijani people showed heroism not only on the battlefields but also at the home front, where they worked day and night to meet the Army’s needs. The Azerbaijani industrial enterprises were making 130 kinds of arms and ammunition in that period.
Gafarova proceeded to touch upon the formidable role of the Azerbaijani crude oil in that historic Victory, saying that three quarters of the oil extracted in the Soviet Union as well as 85-90 percent of aviation petrol and high-quality motor oils came from Azerbaijan during the war years. The majority of the tanks and aircraft that played a decisive role in the Victory in the World War II worked on the fuel supplied by the oilers of Baku.
The speaker said then that the care of and attention to the WWII veterans remained a priority area in the state policy that is carried into life under the guidance of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The numerous orders and decrees signed by the President to that end are a vivid confirmation of the heightening care of the war veterans and the strengthening of their social protection. Speaker Sahiba Gafarova recalled the words of the National Leader, Heydar Aliyev: ‘The veterans are the “golden fund” of our people.’
All the great victories that nations won thanks to their immense endeavours were, first and foremost, the results of the infinite faith in such a supreme value as justice is, and also of the efforts made to restore justice. Consequently, that faith becomes the main source of inspiration for the Great Victory.
The speaker went on to say that Azerbaijan had been able to liberate its territories from the 30-year-long occupation, restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and revive those lands due to the Victory won in the 44-day Second Karabakh War of 2020. That was the embodiment of the unwavering faith of the Azerbaijani people – of its past and current generations – in the prevalence of justice; that was also the people’s resolve to restore justice.
As the speaker emphasized, the courage and valour that Soviet Union peoples demonstrated in the years of the WWII should serve a true example of patriotism for the young generation. It is not only a memory of the past; rather, it is also a heritage for the coming generations.
The important and extremely necessary initiatives and projects of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly serve the cause of preserving the shared memory of that historic victory and of handing it down through the generations.
Having remarked that that Victory was a common one for all Soviet Union peoples who demonstrated unimaginable courage and valour for the sake of peace, prosperity and a bright future, Gafarova said that the Victory was the outcome of the representatives of the various peoples having stood side by side to defend the just cause as well as of the unprecedented unity and solidarity of the Soviet Union nations.
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