Azernews.Az

BAKU – A forum of Azerbaijani opposition parties held on Tuesday discussed prospects of joint struggle.

"Today's forum reminds me of our meetings in the 1980's. At that time days we gathered in different places - in the film studios and theaters. Acting so, we achieved Azerbaijan's independence. We have achieved independence, but we couldn't restore our territorial integrity," Musavat Party chairman Isa Gambar said during his speech.

According to him, December 14 can be a historic day for Azerbaijan.

"At this time the forum is attended not only by politicians and candidates who participated in these elections, but also by public members," he said.

According to the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP) chairman Ali Karimli, this forum could lead to fundamental changes in Azerbaijan's policy.

"We can take advantage of the rights given us by the Constitution and, by collecting 300 signatures, make a proposal to amend the Constitution. But this issue can not be solved by individual organizations. This is possible in case of consolidation of all democratic forces," Karimli said.

According to Karimli, at present, the main goal is self-organization of the forum.

"We will try to invite here NGO representatives and intellectuals who are not attending the forum today. There may be disagreements among us, we must try not to have antagonistic views. We want to create regulations and submit it to the next forum. We will continue to seek consensus. On the eve of New Year we will coordinate all the offers and invite those whom we would like to see at the next forum," Karimli said.

At the end of the forum it was decided to coordinate all the proposals and submitting regulations on the forum and its further activities for discussion during the next meeting.

Azerbaijani Popular Front was established in 1989 during the national liberation movement in Azerbaijan. It was registered as a party in 1995. The party's ideology includes democracy, national ideas. After its chairman Abulfaz Elchibey died in August 2000, members of the party split into two camps for ideological reasons. As a result, the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party and the Classic Popular Front Party were created.

Musavat Party was established in October 1911 in Baku. On May 28, 1918 in Tbilisi, Musavat Party together with several parties announced the independence of Azerbaijan. In connection with the occupation of Azerbaijan by the Red Army in 1920, Musavat Party proceeded to the secret activities.

The party was re-launched Nov. 7, 1992. Isa Gambar was elected chairman of the party. A former parliament speaker, Gambar ran in the 2003 presidential elections.