Baku, May 9, AZERTAC

The liberation by our valiant army under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev of Shusha, the crown of Karabakh and a city of tremendous historical, cultural and strategic importance, on 8 November 2020, has been the most significant historic event and a major military victory of the 44-day Patriotic War Azerbaijan accomplished in Karabakh. Azerbaijan's military and diplomatic successes, especially the liberation of the ancient city of Shusha from occupation, had a decisive impact on the subsequent outcome of the war and went down in our history as Victory Day.

The courageous Azerbaijani Army led by President and victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, guided by the principles of international law, in particular Article 51 of the UN Charter which envisages the right to liberate one’s territories, carried out a large-scale counter-offensive operation during the 44-day patriotic war to liberate our lands, dispelled the “invincibility” myth created by the enemy over the years, dealt a crushing blow to Armenia’s mendacious propaganda machine and exposed the aggressive policy of Armenia and its patrons. The resolute and principled position of President Ilham Aliyev conditioned our success both in the field of diplomacy and in the military field.

AZERTAC is publishing an article entitled “Shusha – the culturalcapital of Azerbaijan, Khari Bulbul – a symbol of Karabakh's freedom”by Elchin Ahmedov, Professor of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Doctor of Political Sciences.

The liberation of Shusha was inscribed in history as Victory Day and Shusha was declared the cultural capital of Azerbaijan

The principled position of President of Azerbaijan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, his convincing arguments and well-founded views on the victories of the Azerbaijani Army on the battlefield turned into diplomatic successes and conditioned our country's military-diplomatic victory in the second Karabakh war. It is beyond doubt that all this is a great military-diplomatic success of Azerbaijan and a manifestation of the international community’s confidence in Azerbaijan, which an indicator of the global authority of our country in general and its president in Particular.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has always stated that there is no and can’t be any change in Azerbaijan’s position, because it is based on historical justice and international law. Saying to the whole world that “Azerbaijan's territorial integrity has the same value as the territorial integrity of any other country,” President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that a second Armenian state will never be allowed on Azerbaijani soil, that all occupied lands must be liberated from occupiers and Azerbaijani citizens must return to their native lands.

President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, who has always put national and state interests of Azerbaijan above everything else, said in his address to the nation on the occasion of the liberation of Shusha on 8 November 2020: “Shusha, which has been under occupation for 28 years, has been liberated! Shusha is free now! We have returned to Shusha! We have won this historic victory on the battlefield. 8 November 2020 will forever remain in the history of Azerbaijan. This history will live forever. It is the day of our glorious Victory!”

According to an Order signed by the President of Azerbaijan on 3 December, 8 November has been included on the list of public holidays and will be officially celebrated as Victory Day every year. The presidential decree on the establishment of Victory Day in the Republic of Azerbaijan emphasizes that Azerbaijan's military victories, especially the liberation of Shusha from the enemy, have played a decisive role in the war, resulting in Armenia's capitulation, forcing Armenia to return Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan. The resolve and determination of the Azerbaijani people, the economic strength, the modern army and the unity between the people and the government have been important factors in securing the victory of our country. Inspired by the rich statehood and military history of our great ancestors, the people of Azerbaijan have written another glorious chronicle of heroism, proving to the whole world that they are a victorious nation that has won a historic victory over the enemy.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who visited Shusha on 14 January 2021, noted that he last visited the city 39 years ago, during a historic and unforgettable visit of national leader Heydar Aliyev. He noted that the heroic Azerbaijani Army had conducted a perfect military operation. Demonstrating power and national spirit, it has liberated Shusha from occupiers and, after a long break, the Azerbaijani flag was raised in Shusha on 8 November. “We have come here as winners, we have raised the flag, the Azerbaijani flag is flying in all liberated lands. We fought our way here. Nobody gave us these lands. The negotiations were of no value at all. We saw that we had to liberate our lands on our own, and we did that.”

During his visit to Shusha, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said that after the liberation of Shusha from occupation, the process of restoring the city and all historical buildings had begun. As a result of the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, including Shusha, our historical and cultural sites have been destroyed and house museums looted. Among them are busts of Khurshidbanu Natavan, Uzeyir Hajibayli and Bulbul in Shusha. These bullet-pierced busts are witness to Armenian vandalism. President Ilham Aliyev noted that after the restoration of our territorial integrity, busts of Bulbul, Natavan and Uzeyir Hajibayli would be erected in Shusha again. These words of the President of

Azerbaijan have already become a reality. The busts of these geniuses are back in Shusha again.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev noted that despite all the efforts of the Armenians, they failed to introduce Shusha to the world as an Armenian city. They tried for 28 years but did not succeed. However, even though Shusha has been destroyed by the Armenians, it did not bend, it did not lose its dignity in captivity and managed to preserve its Azerbaijani spirit despite attempts to Armenianize it.