“Currently, our nation is celebrating the anniversary of one of the most important and proud pages in its history – the glorious Victory won as a result of the anti-terrorist measures carried out in Karabakh on September 19-20 last year. This operation is the Khankendi peak of the Great Victory Road, engraved in gold letters in the heroic Chronicle of Azerbaijan.
Sahib Mammadov, chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan, expressed these views to mass media.
It is no coincidence that on the day when Shusha was completely cleared of enemies, Commander-in-Chief Mr. Ilham Aliyev visited the grave of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and said, “I am a happy man that I fulfilled my father’s will. We freed Shusha!” he said. From the first day of Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s activity as President, our people felt that victory was not far away.
As a result of purposeful and large-scale activities of our head of state, the independence of our country was further strengthened, the economy took the path of irreversible development, Azerbaijan became a member of the space family, a new youth was formed in the spirit of love for the Motherland, and a strong and invincible army was established. In short, all roads and steps taken were directed to Karabakh. The battles of April in 2016 and the victory of Gunnut in 2018 were the tidings of the great Victory. In just 44 days, the invading army was destroyed, and only the deserters survived. Thanks to the unparalleled leadership skills of the victorious Commander-in-Chief Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the bravery and high fighting spirit of our invincible army, as well as the unity of our people, the occupation was ended with a magnificent and unique Victory. On September 19, 2023, as a result of the explosion of pre-installed mines for terrorist purposes, the martyrdom of civilians and military personnel of the Internal Troops, the firing of units of our army and the wounding of two military personnel, as well as the fact that two civilians were victims of Armenian terrorism in Aghdam and Shusha on the same day was the last cause.
“After the war, Azerbaijan extended a hand of peace to Armenia many times, but the other side evaded it with various excuses, and even resorted to military provocations and did not remove it from our territories. At the same time, he expanded his intelligence activities, remined cleared areas, and implemented a purposeful and planned terrorist policy.
All this showed that anti-terrorist measures were inevitable. Therefore, our invincible and heroic army started anti-terrorist measures of a local nature in Karabakh in order to ensure the provisions of the tripartite declaration, to neutralize and remove Armenian militants from our lands, to ensure the safety of Azerbaijani civil workers and military personnel, as well as to restore the constitutional structure of Azerbaijan. This operation also showed to the whole world the supreme leadership qualities of the Commander-in-Chief Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the strength, professional level and determination of victory of the Azerbaijani Army.
Our people, as always, showed solidarity this time and turned around their leader with an iron fist. It was this unity that brought us to the next brilliant Victory. Today, life is boiling again in free Khankendi, Shusha, Khojaly, Fuzuli, Lachin and other areas freed from occupation, extensive and systematic improvement works are being carried out. Local residents return to their homes happy and in great joy. Our beautiful Shusha is still as welcoming as before, and hosts international and local events, conferences, and music festivals. This year, after many years, the first bell rang in Shusha and Khojaly, the children of the families moved to the city started the new school year. Also, Karabakh University in Khankendi opens its doors to students. As we watch this scene, we remember the great leader Heydar Aliyev’s visionary appeal to his people in 2003 and we see how Mr. Ilham Aliyev resolved the fateful issue with high professionalism,” said the chairman of ATUC.
“The subsequent course of events showed that the liberation of Eastern Zangezur and Karabakh from occupation was achieved thanks to the iron will and unwavering determination of our head of state Mr. Ilham Aliyev. Mainly, after the conflict, a number of states and international organizations began to be confused by using double standards and adopted meaningless and slanderous statements.