Azerbaijani writers praised for preserving national spirit
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijani writers and poets have always played a key role in the formation of the national consciousness and preserving its national, cultural heritage by their works throughout different generations.
Now they are also playing an active role in the socio-political processes of their country. The most spectacular and valuable writers of Azerbaijan gathered in Azerbaijan Writers' Union, which recently marked its 80th anniversary.
The 12th Congress of Azerbaijani writers was held on June 17, which gathered the representatives of the state and government agencies, parliament members, about 60 guests from 25 countries and 400 representatives of the Azerbaijan Writers' Union.
Addressing the congress, Azerbaijan`s Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev spoke about the care and attention paid in Azerbaijan to the culture and the arts of the country.
Garayev stressed that the works of Azerbaijan's outstanding writes and poets have enriched world literature as a wealth of mankind.
The Chairman of Azerbaijan Writers' Union, national writer Anar noted the organization's importance in protecting the morals of the Azerbaijani people.
Noting that Azerbaijan Writers Union has passed a difficult path, Anar said one of the blackest pages in the Union's history was 1937, when a large number of talented writers and other cultural figures were suppressed.
He stressed that works of Azerbaijani writers inspired soldiers to fight during the period of the World War II.
Anar added that the writers played an active role in the socio-political processes in the country at the end of the last century.
He noted that the Writers' Union sent the then Head of the former Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev a letter on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. He said in reply to the letter, Gorbachev assured that Nagorno-Karabakh will remain part of Azerbaijan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
Anar said nowadays, the Writers' Union is a holistic organization which plays an important role in protecting the morals in Azerbaijan.
He thanked President Ilham Aliyev for supporting this event.
Then the Head of the Department for Humanitarian Policy of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, Fatma Abdullazade, read a congratulatory letter of the President on the 80th anniversary of the Writers' Union.
"Throughout the history, being committed to the traditions of our ancestors, the Azerbaijani people had great respect for the writers' community, highly valued poetry and art," President Aliyev said.
He said Azerbaijani writers played an undeniable role in acquiring and strengthening county's independence and the development and revival of freedom in the minds of people.
President Aliyev further said Azerbaijani writers remain committed to the highest ideals, taking a truly civil position in the triumph of Azerbaijanism ideology and preservation of the national spirit.
He also praised writers' role in maintaining the purity and development of the Azerbaijani language.
Later, the Congress of Azerbaijani Writers' Union has reelected Anar as the chairman of the Union.
Azerbaijan Writers' Union is the greatest public organization of writers, poets and translators of Azerbaijan. The main objectives of the Union are to support the works and created activities of young writers, to unite Azerbaijanis living in different countries of the world around a national literature, to expand artist-readers relationships and to promote Azerbaijan literature abroad.
Azerbaijan Writers Union also plays an important role in familiarizing readers in the other countries with Azerbaijani literature.
In April 1932, the reorganizational measures were adopted to reestablish the Society of Writers of Azerbaijan. Two years later, on June 13, 1934, Azerbaijan Writers' Union was established in Baku during the 1st Congress of the writers of Azerbaijan.