Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

President Ilham Aliyev has hailed as very significant the opening of the Vagif Poetry Days in liberated Shusha, Azertag reported on August 30.

He made the remarks at the official opening ceremony of the Vagif Poetry Days in Shusha also attended by First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva.

“It is a very significant day in the life of our country today. We are celebrating the opening of the Vagif Poetry Days in front of the mausoleum of the great Azerbaijani poet, statesman and vizier of the Karabakh khan Molla Panah Vagif. I heartily congratulate you and all the people of Azerbaijan on this occasion,” he said.

The president stressed that Vagif’s mausoleum, like all other historical sites on the occupied territories, was vandalized by the Armenians. The mausoleum has been fully restored and was opened for the second time on August 29.

He noted that even in a ruined state, even during the occupation when it was vandalized, Shusha was able to preserve its spirit, its stature.

“It did not bend, did not break, it waited for us. We had to come, and we did. We have come here as a victorious people. We did not come through negotiations, not as a result of any concessions made by Armenia, but by shedding blood, by giving martyrs, by showing self-sacrifice on the battlefield, by restoring our territorial integrity and by restoring our national dignity,” the president added.

Aliyev spoke about tangible steps that are being taken to revive Shusha. He recalled his first visit to Shusha on January 14, 2021. The president added that one of the first instructions during the first visit to Shusha was to restore Vagif's mausoleum because the vandals had destroyed it.

Aliyev noted that during the first visit, he gave all necessary instructions to restore the country’s cultural capital and that a lot has been done since then over the past seven months.

He stressed that all Armenian efforts to present Shusha as an Armenian city failed.

“Yes, the city is still in ruins. No matter how hard the Armenians tried, they could not present Shusha as an Armenian city. If it were an Armenian city, then why is it in such a state, why was it destroyed, why wasn’t a single building constructed here? Except for the new villas of three or four Armenian officials, no new buildings have been constructed here. All the old buildings have been destroyed, all historic sites have been destroyed,” he added.

Aliyev noted that the comprehensive measures show that the revival of Shusha is progressing rapidly and the people of Shusha are returning to Shusha.

“Groups of people are coming to visit their hometown. At the same time, natives of Shusha are provided with jobs at the facilities that have already been opened here. So we will revive Shusha,” he said.

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