Ilham Aliyev Increased the Pride Immunity of Our People

You are free, Shusha. I was lucky to come and see you. For the past 30 years, we all have lived longing for you. May Allah have mercy on our martyrs! May Allah bless hearts of our veterans and grant our victorious Commander-in-Chief a long life!

Your bravery has increased the ‘pride immunity’ of our people.

Shusha is among the most charming corners of our country and the world. This ancient city - an unassailable fortress and a cultural heritage of Azerbaijan - is a historical monument in itself.

The liberation of Shusha, located on the top of steep rocks, from Armenian invaders by our soldiers and officers, being engaged in close-quarters combat and knife and pistol battles, demonstrated the strength of our mighty army to both the Armenians and the entire world. This strength is formed by the unity, potential, and pride of our people.

Shusha revealed our country to the world as not only a place of natural beauties created by God but also the homeland of a proud nation, whose heroic army attacked the 30-year fortified positions of the invaders on a small piece of land on the top of steep rocks from below, crushing and driving the enemy out.

These events made Shusha a holy hero city.

Today, people from all over the world want to come here and see this city. Shusha is now open to everyone and ready to welcome its guests.

"There is no Karabakh without Shusha, and there is no Azerbaijan without Karabakh."

National leader Heydar Aliyev expressed the significance of Shusha for our country with these words.

"Shusha is the eye of Azerbaijan. It is a matter of pride for every Azerbaijani. Shusha is a symbol of our culture and history. It is dear to everyone. But this can be said about not only Shusha but also the Lachin mountains; we can never live without Lachin, a beautiful city like Aghdam, we can't imagine living without Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan, Gubadli, Istisu hot springs of Kalbajar."

As President Ilham Aliyev said, Shusha is a dear city, land, fortress, and heritage for not only the people of Shusha but all Azerbaijanis, every citizen who loves his or her homeland and nation.

Immediately after the liberation of Shusha, the cradle of the Caucasus culture and music, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev appealed to the world to protect and preserve the national and universal human cultural values of this ancient city. International organizations immediately expressed their attitude by voting for the decision that Shusha and its cultural heritage belong to only the Azerbaijani people.

The 150-bed Shusha hotel with a 400-seat conference hall is under construction in the city and will soon be available to guests.

In general, the reconstruction and restoration work, performed in our territories liberated from occupation over the past two years, shows that our country keeps pace with the leading states of the world in not only the military field but also the Construction industry. The construction and commissioning of three international airports over one or two years are among the record figures.

The “Smart Village” project implemented in the Aghali village of Zangilan and the return of our forcibly displaced compatriots to that modern smart residential area can be considered one of the worldwide innovations. Currently, people live there in environmentally friendly (eco-friendly) conditions ensured by emerging and latest technologies, according to world standards.

Thus, the return of each of our regions in the 44-day war, which is considered Patriotic for our people, is a chronicle of heroism, and the liberation of Shusha is the crown and the highest peak of this heroism. The reconstruction and restoration work started after the war and performed at a record speed, also demonstrates that our people are capable of heroism in not only the war but also post-war conditions. These heroic deeds are the results of the right military decisions and the talented political course of our Commander-in-Chief.

Lachin Abasov