The date of September 15 is of exceptional importance in the life of Azerbaijan. When the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was proclaimed on May 28, 1918, Baku was under the occupation of the Bolshevik-Armenian armed forces of the Baku Council of People’s Commissars. For this reason, the national government was located in Ganja. Azerbaijan without Baku was like a headless body. Of course, non-reconciliation with the occupation is the basis of the character of our people. As always, the fraternal Turks came to the aid of Azerbaijan. The Caucasian Islamic Army, led by Nuru Pasha and consisting of Ottoman and Azerbaijani Democratic Republic forces, liberated Baku from the Bolsheviks. It was a great victory in the history of Azerbaijan, the greatest success of the activity of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, but also a celebration of the Turkish unity.
This opinion was expressed by the chairman of the Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation (ATUC), MP Sattar Mohbaliyev.
“The Caucasus Islamic Army gave martyrs to achieve this victory, destroyed the occupiers, formed the spirit of struggle against the occupiers in future generations, set an example of Turkish unity, demonstrated unity not in words but in deeds. In the battles for the liberation of Baku, the Ottoman army killed 1,130 people, while the Turkish rescue army killed about 5,000 people for Azerbaijan. Both in the Balkan War and in Canakkale, the heroes from Azerbaijan fought together with their Turkish brothers and won together. “Looking at the events, we see that our struggle was against aggression and occupation, we have always fought for our homeland, independence, sovereignty, and our rich history has been passed on to future generations with great victories over the enemy,” he said.
According to him, for 70 years they tried to make us forget this history, but failed: “Our people lived the joy of this victory in their hearts for many years, they were not deceived by false history. After regaining independence, our state praised September 15, and in 1999 a monument was erected in honor of the Caucasus Islamic Army in the highest place of Baku – the Alley of Martyrs. Every year on September 15, our people visit this monument, pray for the souls of our heroic ancestors who died for the liberation of Baku, and remember them with great respect.
“In the 44-day Patriotic War, which we won under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, brotherly Turkey stood by us with all its heart, both as a state and as a nation, and played an important role in our victory.” Since the beginning of the war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed unequivocal and open support for Azerbaijan, saying that Azerbaijan is not alone. This inspired us and at the same time silenced all the forces and circles that wanted to intervene. The Shusha Declaration signed on June 15, 2021 is a message of brotherhood between Azerbaijan and Turkey to the whole world. The declaration also addresses issues of defense cooperation and mutual military assistance. This shows once again that we will always be together and ensure each other’s security, “Mohbaliyev said.
The ATUC chairman said that the victory of the Caucasus Islamic Army will remain in the history of Azerbaijan forever and will be an example for future generations along with the Patriotic War. He once again asked God to bless all the martyrs who died for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.