BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. It makes sense to hold a conference in November on President Ilham Aliyev's role in media development, the first Deputy Director General of TASS, Mikhail Gusman, said at a conference on “Role of National Leader Heydar Aliyev in media development” organized by the Media Development Agency, Trend reports.
"This November, this year will mark the fifth anniversary of Azerbaijan's truly great victory. People will talk about it, and write about it. But I would like to address the leadership of Azerbaijan. It makes sense to hold a conference in November on President Ilham Aliyev's role in media development. It will be a very fair and necessary conference," he said.
Gusman emphasized that those interviews given by President Ilham Aliyev during the 44-day war are the greatest example of fantastic professional journalistic diplomacy.
"I know there is a book with these interviews, but I think it deserves a separate conversation and a separate analysis. I would be happy if there were such a conference. I will ask in advance to participate," he said.
Mikhail Gusman also emphasized Heydar Aliyev's key role in the formation of the Azerbaijani press.
"At that time, media and newspapers became much more open, because from the first day as First Secretary of the Central Committee - the head of the republic - Heydar Aliyev paid great attention to the press. Wonderful newspapers were published in Baku: both ‘Baku Worker’ and ‘Communist’ newspaper, which was published in Azerbaijani language," he said.
According to him, it was the response of professional journalists to the transformations that began in the republic thanks to Heydar Aliyev.
"He, more than anyone, understood the role and importance of the press from day one. I always said: the press and power are like glass. It must be transparent. It should neither distort, exaggerate, nor minimize. Heydar Aliyev has consistently advocated for people to clearly understand the power, its intentions, goals, and what it achieves," Mikhail Gusman emphasized.
He pointed out that speaking about such a personality on a regional scale, one should understand: there were few such political giants in the history of mankind in general.
"I came to the conclusion that in the XX century, only two people could sincerely say about themselves: ‘I saved my country’. In a personal capacity, only Churchill, before the Second World War, and Heydar Aliyev could say it. These are really two people who, thanks to their will and leadership, saved their countries," Gusman added.