Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijan's national security agencies mark the 103rd anniversary of their establishment on March 28, Azertag has reported.

In line with the presidential order signed on March 23, 1997, the security service officers have been celebrating March 28 as professional holiday for the past 25 years.

This historic day is linked to the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's (ADR) intelligence and counter-intelligence agency on March 28, 1919, to secure state security. In line with the War Minister Samad bay Mehmandarov’s order, Mammadbagir Sheykhzamanli and later his brother Nagy Sheykhzamanli were appointed as the chiefs of the government agency.

During the Soviet era, the organization was first called the Emergency Commission (EC), for some time it was part of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD), and then the State Security Committee was established. During the seventy years of Soviet rule, the task of the state security body operating in Azerbaijan was mainly to protect the totalitarian regime and to suppress any opposite ideologies.

For a long time, national staff was not allowed to hold high positions in this special service body. With the appointment of national leader Heydar Aliyev as chairman of the State Security Committee in 1967, a completely new stage in the history of Azerbaijan's security agencies began.

Heydar Aliyev achieved a significant transformation in the security system and established the groundwork for the nationalization program by dedicating 25 years of his life to duty in the national security institutions.

Achieving serious quality changes in this area is also in the focus of President Ilham Aliyev. Thanks to the successful reforms of the head of state, the activities of security agencies have reached a new level.

President Ilham Aliyev carried out comprehensive and systematic structural reforms in this area. As an important part of these reforms, the Ministry of National Security was abolished in line with the presidential decree (December 14, 2015) and the State Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service were established to ensure the effective governance.

These reforms have opened up a wide range of opportunities to ensure stability in Azerbaijan, as well as to further strengthen measures to combat terrorism and smuggling.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the fight against transnational crime, tons of drugs planned to be transported through the country have been detected and a number of successful operations have been carried out to ensure cyber security.

Azerbaijani security agencies celebrate this year's professional holiday with unforgettable feelings - the spirit of victory. Azerbaijani special services played a critical role in striking a crushing blow to the enemy in the 44-day war (2020) with Armenia achieving a glorious victory, as well as ensuring reliable security on the liberated territories.

Following the war, the national security agencies successfully continued their service in the liberated lands.

Under the presidential decree "On the organization of temporary special management in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan" dated October 29, 2020, local branches of the State Security Service were launched in Jabrayil, Zangilan, Fuzuli, Gubadli and Hadrut settlement of Khojavend region.

The spectacular opening of the new administrative building of Azerbaijan's State Security Service's Shusha regional headquarters in December 2020 made every Azerbaijani citizen proud.

Celebrating their professional holidays with great enthusiasm today, the employees of the Azerbaijani state security and special services resolutely protect the people and the state from foreign attacks and provocations of enemies.

They show loyalty and true patriotism to the people and statehood in ensuring national security, preventing the intelligence activities of foreign special services, combating international terrorism, transnational organized crime and religious extremism.

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