POLITICS

HEYDAR ALIYEV FOUNDATION PRESENTS “TRUTH ABOUT KARABAKH”

25.01.2006 [16:59]
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The Heydar Aliyev Foundation has held a presentation ceremony of a series of booklets “Truth about Karabakh”. In her opening remarks, President of the Foundation and that of Friends of Azerbaijan Culture, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva pointed out that the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan’s largest, and the most painful problem. She said: “It has been 17 years since the people of Azerbaijan have been facing this injustice. The Armenian military aggression led to occupation of some 20% of our lands, over 20 thousand people were killed, over 50 thousand have been wounded or became disabled. Over one million people ousted from their homes have been living as refugees and internally displaced persons for over 10 years. The Azerbaijanis were subjected to the Armenians’ policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Rights of over one million of our compatriots were violated. The Khojaly genocide - a historical crime against the whole humanity - is the greatest tragedy in the 20th century history of Azerbaijan”

Mrs. Aliyeva continued that bringing all these realities, facts and events, as well as real causes and consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, breaking information blockade and suppressing the lie and slander disseminated by the Armenian lobby over decades, was an integral part of the policy pursued by national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. “Heydar Aliyev always took the map of Azerbaijan with him on foreign trips to demonstrate it, and provide truthful information about the country to the people he met; and he recommended to every Azerbaijani to do the same”, she said

The President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation pointed out that this policy is continued today by President Ilham Aliyev who would also emphasize the necessity to create scientific works, write books about Karabakh, translate them into other languages and disseminate across the world.

“Remaining devoted to the ideas of our great leader, we, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, consider it as our moral duty to continue these activities. The project we are presenting today - a series of booklets Truth about Karabakh - is a step in that direction,” Mrs. Aliyeva said. She let the ceremony attendees know that the series consists of five booklets providing exact information about history of Karabakh, beginning of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, damaged it caused to our country, Khojaly genocide and terror acts committed by Armenians, and will be issued in English, French, German, Arabic and Russian languages. For the time being, according to her, the work is in progress at the second part of the series, which will cover the period from Caucasian Albania to pre-Soviet Azerbaijan.

Other speakers including Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, President of the National Academy of Sciences Mahmud Abbasov and Director of the Academy’s Human Rights Institute Rovshan Mustafayev shared their opinions on the project. They expressed confidence that the well-designed edition full of concrete facts, and photos would make a valuable contribution to the cause of spreading realities of Azerbaijan throughout the world.

Participants of the ceremony including representatives of foreign countries and international organizations, well-known workers of science and culture were presented copies of the series Truth about Karabakh.