By Agha Iqrar Haroon
SHUSHA, Azerbaijan: While appreciating the positive role of media in nation-building, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has said that media keeps him updated about what is going on across the country and such information helps him to manage good governance and mitigate injustice if it happens anywhere in the Caucasus country.
In an over three-hour-long candid interaction with foreign media on July 21, 2023 in Shusha, President Ilham Aliyev shared his political, administrative, and foreign affairs philosophy that has brought exceptional economic growth, remarkable social and political stability and exemplary defence and strategic success to Azerbaijan under his leadership.
While interacting with participants of the Global Media Forum on “New Media in the Era of the 4th Industrial Revolution” in Shusha, President Ilham Aliyev said that he believes that natural resources, human capital, and strategic location of the country can be managed and further developed by the leadership if it has clear futuristic vision and commitment with the public. He said that good governance is the most important component for realizing opportunities provided by nature to any country.
Azerbaijan’s president said that social as well as traditional media are excellent tools for getting information about what is happening in the country and it helps to mitigate bureaucratic glitches by providing information if something wrong is happening anywhere in the country. He was of the view that responsible media plays a pivotal role in good governance because it is a counter-check over the bureaucratic system.
“If something is wrong in the country, if justice is denied to someone in society, I feel the same pain as any other Azerbaijani. I am an Azerbaijani like any other citizen of the country therefore media provides me the reality that might not come to me through a bureaucratic system of governance”, commented President Ilham Alliyev.
Responding to a question about Social media and its role for world leaders, he said:
“Well, I can tell you that I find out many important things from social media and what is happening in our country. On several occasions in my communications with media representatives, I was telling them that you help me in my day to day job. Because you know every President has his own, how to say, very similar to each other format of activity. Because especially in the countries like Azerbaijan, where you have to work 24 hours a day and be ready for any kind of news, good or bad. At the same time, the scope of activity is really so huge that sometimes you miss some important points, so you can miss the feeling of the pulse of society. This is very important for me to feel this pulse. I feel it when I travel, when I meet people, when I also use social media and many things, which happened in Azerbaijan and were not reported to me, either due to some bureaucratic procedure or now less deliberately, now less but still. Maybe because of my being too busy with some other issues. I find out also through my grandchildren sometimes, and children from social media and sometimes myself. It helps a lot. Because there are a lot of things, which irritate me, as well as anyone in Azerbaijan. I feel the same. I live the same life like any other person. I love my country like any other person, and I am irritated like any other person, when I see injustice, bureaucracy, mismanagement or something even worse. So, channels of communications to me are different. But taking into account the current situation and, of course, post-war situation, issues related to security, peace process, energy diplomacy – I mean issues of global security and development of Azerbaijan – they prevail in my day to day working activities. So, in these circumstances, definitely, I can miss something. So, social media and not only social media, traditional media help, when I follow of course, to know what is happening in order to react immediately. In many cases, I can tell you that governmental officials react even to the cutting of one tree because I saw it on the media in many cases. It creates additional discipline. You know, I travel around the country regularly and travel most of the time by car. The reason is that when I go by car, I can see many more things than I go by plane or by helicopter. Officials on the ground know that I will come next time and check what is happening, what is going not as it should be. So, I think that in my future activity, definitely I will use social media. I’m not as active as I would like to be, but with respect to issues, which create concern in Azerbaijani society, I am also very reachable by people in my office and my close relatives. And also I think that meetings like this are very important”.
The hero of the Second Karabakh War, which is also known as the 44-Day War, shared his experience of liberating occupied parts of his country from Armenia and stated that the entire nation stood behind the fearless military of Azerbaijan that through bravery and professional skill liberated occupied lands from Armenia and told the entire world that injustice can only be fought with military power and international fora like United Nations and its resolutions are only pieces of paper and do not provide justice to a nation who face injustice by any other country.
It is pertinent to mention that UN resolutions demanded Armenia to release illegally occupied lands of Azerbaijan but nothing happened in 28 years and then Azerbaijan liberated its occupied area with military force under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev who was of the view that justice cannot be waited but fought and snatched and that is what Azerbaijan did. He stated that Armenia stabbed the back of its neighbor—Azerbaijan and occupied neighboring Azerbaijan by taking advantage of the political turmoil Azerbaijan was facing in the early 90s.
President Ilham Alliyev answered several questions from foreign media for over three-hour long candid media interactions and briefed media about global and regional challenges the world is facing. He stated that the world is changing so the opportunities and threats are changing. He stated that he believes in collectiveness and an all-inclusive approach that steers his administrative, social, economic as well as diplomatic policies and he believes in a governance system that is led by a participatory approach.
When asked about foreign affairs relations with neighboring as well as regional countries, he stated he believes in the collective and shared future of the region.
Responding to a question about his relations with Türkiye, he stated that Ankara always stood with Baky not as a neighbor or a friend but rather like a brother, and moral support provided by Türkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the 44-day Patriotic War was a great moral support for Azerbaijani nation and golden event diplomatic history of both the countries.
A Global Media Forum “New Media in Fourth Industrial Revolution Era” is being held in Shusha, Azerbaijan under the directions of President Ilham Aliyev, as part of the celebrations of “Heydar Aliyev Year” and on the occasion of the 148th anniversary of Azerbaijan. Over 150 participants from 49 countries including top news agencies from 34 countries are attending the Forum.
The Forum will discuss important and critical issues faced by journalism and media globally. The experts will measure opportunities and threats being faced by media as well as to democracies from irresponsible media usage therefore the forum will help both the stakeholders—the media as well the states to tailor a road map that would benefit both the parties (the states and the media).
Interactive discussions would be held over new tools of journalism and communications in the digital era, digital transformation, media management, sustainable media business models, consumer trends and media literacy in the new media, methods of fighting disinformation and fake news, safety of journalists and its related issues.
It is the first time that the city of Shusha which was liberated from Armenia is hosting heads of the world’s leading media houses, journalist organizations, and communication experts.
President Ilham Aliyev while welcoming heads of the world’s leading media and journalistic organizations, authoritative experts in the field of media, information communications, and well-known journalists hoped that international media would help to promote Shusha as a world-class tourism destination because Shusha is the jewel Azerbaijani history of literature, music, and culture.
Brief History of the 44-day Patriotic War (also known as the Second Karabakh War)
Armenia launched military aggression against Azerbaijan by taking advantage of the chaos in Azerbaijan in the early 90s and occupied over 20% of Azerbaijani lands and executed ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis. Over one million Azerbaijanis were expelled from their native lands and even their graves were vandalized by the Armenian army as well as the civil population.
United Nations passed resolutions condemning Armenian aggression and occupation of Azerbaijani lands and demanded immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijan lands. UN Security Council (UNSC) also asked Armenia for the withdrawal but nothing happened and Armenia continued its policy of aggression and kept slicing Azerbaijani lands and kept killing innocent civil populations through sporadic attacks on bordering areas.
In July 2020, Armenia adopted an aggressive and offensive national security strategy and called for a “new war for new territories”. Armenian decision created “volunteer detachments” consisting of civilians, to sabotage the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border. At the same time, the collection of a large number of weapons and ammunition in bordering areas indicated that Armenia was preparing for a large-scale attack on Azerbaijan, and on September 27, 2020, the armed forces of Armenia started firing on residential areas of Azerbaijan by using heavy artillery.
Responding to this attack, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan started counter-offensive operations in order to prevent and neutralize real and potential military threats against the national security of the Republic of Azerbaijan. A meeting of the Security Council of Azerbaijan was immediately held under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev who is also Commander–in–chief of the military and by the Presidential Decree dated September 27, 2020, from September 28, 2020, martial law was declared throughout the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan in order to bring the country, population, and territory, as well as the Armed Forces and other armed formations, to readiness for defense.
By the Order dated September 28, 2020, partial mobilization was announced and counter-offensive operations were launched by the Azerbaijani military that consequently resulted in defeating Armenian forces and liberating the occupied lands. During this 44 days of Patriotic War, the victorious Azerbaijani Army liberated from occupation the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, and Gubadli, the city of Shusha, which occupies a special place in the history, culture, and hearts of the Azerbaijani people and is considered the pearl of Karabakh, the settlements of Minjivan, Aghband, Bartaz of Zangilan district, the settlement of Hadrut and a number of villages in Khojavend district, more than 300 settlements, including Sugovushan village, Terter district, several villages in the Khojaly and Lachin districts, as well as important strategic heights in the directions of Aghdara, Murovdagh, and Zangilan.
The liberation of Shusha from occupation on November 8, 2020, played a decisive role in the fate of the war, thus Armenia admitted its defeat. According to the statement signed on November 10, 2020, by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, and the President of the Russian Federation, the war ended with the victory of Azerbaijan. Armenia capitulated and was forced to return Kalbajar, Aghdam, and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan. By the Presidential Decrees dated December 2, 2020, September 27 was declared the Day of Remembrance, and November 8 – Victory Day in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
