Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Shusha song and dance ensemble "Karabakh" has successfully performed at the 13th International Folklore Festival in Gyongyos, a Hungarian sister city with Shusha, from August 5 to 12, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Hungary reported.

Executive authorities of Shusha joined the festival with a rich program that reflected the musical art of Karabakh, an ancient land of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani musicians performed in various programs together with performers from China, France, Serbia, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Greece, Panama, Brazil, Poland, Indonesia, Columbia and other countries, as well as in a gala concert at the closing of the festival.

The Azerbaijani ensemble performed with the special concert program on August 10, which remembered as a "Day of Azerbaijan". Mugham, as well as dances with a Caucasian color was of great interest of the Hungarian audience.

Furthermore, Hungarian audience was informed about Shusha and the realities of occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by the Armenian Armed Forces.

Also, a meeting was held between Gyongyos city mayor Laszlo Farago and head of the Shusha executive power, chairman of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh Bayram Safarov to discuss the ways of future cooperation. An agreement was reached in connection with a visit of Hungarian delegation headed by the Gyongyos city mayor to Azerbaijan this fall.

Azerbaijan's Shusha and Hungarian Gyongyos signed a memorandum to become sister cities this May.

Shusha, the cultural center and capital of the historical Karabakh Khanate, fell victim to the Armenian aggression on May 8, 1992, when 290 sq. km of Azerbaijan's territory went to the control of the Armenian invaders.

As a result of the occupation of Shusha, 195 civilians were killed, 165 others wounded, 22,000 displaced and 68 taken hostage by the Armenians. Their fate is unknown to this day.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.