Azernews.Az

By Peter Tase

Azerbaijan enjoys a high reputation and prestige on the world stage and the country maintains admirable levels of economic and financial growth.

The successful military operation and liberation of Shusha during the Azerbaijani people's Patriotic War are rare occurrences in contemporary military history and a singular phenomenon in many facets. Under the inspirational command of President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces also made the following noteworthy accomplishments:

• In just three or four days, the Azerbaijani army overcame the enemy's heavily fortified defenses that had taken 30 years to build up.
• There were 10,000 deserters from the Armenian army during the Second Karabakh War, but not a single Azerbaijani soldier left the battle scene.
• Children forced out of Karabakh in their mothers' arms and barefoot returned to their homeland on tanks, liberating their grandparents' ancestral lands and arriving proudly in their motherland.
• The successful operation in Shusha, the climax of the Karabakh Victory, was etched in global military history textbooks.
• Maximum results were obtained with minimal losses despite the difficult terrain and physical geography.
• The people of Azerbaijan, led by President, His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, formed an Iron Fist and broke the enemy's backbone and morale.

There are written and unwritten laws of war. An army against the other army, a soldier against a soldier, face to face, man to man. The one who is strong has the advantage. This is exactly how Azerbaijan fought in this forty-four-day war. What action did Armenia take? It fired ballistic missiles at civilians in Ganja, Barda, and Tartar, killing hundreds of civilians, children, and women.

Azerbaijan had even more powerful weapons at its disposal if it wanted to attack Yerevan. The military strategy was carefully considered by the victorious Commander-in-Chief in Baku. Instead, the Azerbaijani Army exacted vengeance on the battlefield for the martyrs and innocent civilian victims. Azerbaijan once again demonstrated to the world who is who.

Lieutenant General Hikmat Izzat Mirzayev has proven to be extremely professional and has used cutting-edge military tactics that should be studied in war colleges in the US and Europe.

One of the commanders of the military operations to liberate Azerbaijan's sovereign territory from the Armenian Armed Forces invasion is Special Forces Commander Hikmat Mirzayev. He also oversaw the operation to liberate Jabrayil District from the more than 27-year Armenian occupation.

The immense services and leadership of First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva in the victory of Karabakh are also remembered with a feeling of gratitude. Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva, President Ilham Aliyev's closest and loyal comrade-in-arms, provided strong political and moral support to the struggle for the liberation of Azerbaijan's sovereign lands. All of her appeals to the people and requests for national solidarity resounded in the hearts of the people, impressing everyone. Her prayers during the war were accepted and God granted her the happiness of embracing the land of Karabakh.

On the initiative of Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation started restoring historical and religious monuments in Shusha and other liberated lands right after the Patriotic War. This admirable initiative gave the building projects in Karabakh and to the east of Zangazur a strong boost.

For many years, the Azerbaijani people demanded justice for Khojaly and Karabakh. The international community was silent, with the exception of a few states in the United States of America.

In comparison to other nations like Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the United States hasn't invested as much in Azerbaijan. But what about international law and justice? The United States and France, who acknowledge the made-up Armenian genocide that is purported to have occurred a century ago but for which there is still no proof, do not want to acknowledge the Khojaly massacre that the Armenians carried out in full view of the entire world.

Similar to the OSCE, Minsk Group, we can still clearly see what Armenia did to the lands it occupied by eradicating hundreds of indigenous peoples and villages from Azerbaijani territory. Aghdam is known as the Hiroshima of the Caucasus, the same is with Jabrayil, Gubadli, Zangilan, Kalbajar, Lachin, and Fuzuli. There was not a single building left by the Armenians; everything was destroyed.

We were unaware of the destruction just two years ago. However, the OSCE Minsk Group's US, Russian, and French co-chairs had been visiting these territories back and forth for 30 years while being fully aware of what was taking place. Despite seeing everything, they remained silent.

Did someone stand up and say that the occupation and vandalism must stop? The UN, and the OSCE, did not put pressure on the occupier, on Armenia, which supports terrorism at the state level, treating the brutal crime of genocide - against the long-suffering people of Azerbaijan - coldly and as someone else's problem. As a result, the invader (Armenia) and the occupied country (Azerbaijan) were treated in the same way.

In international law, there is no concept of large or small, strong or weak states. Each sovereign country has the same rights. In reality, we are observing a double standard in the handling of international law. The geopolitical events surrounding Ukraine are the latest example. It must be borne in mind that all the Western and NATO countries, including the United States of America, have stood up. Unprecedented in world history sanctions are being applied against Russia. But not a single sanction was applied against Armenia, which kept the lands of Azerbaijan under occupation for almost 30 years. Currently, Armenia continues to kill innocent Azerbaijani lives, with thousands and thousands of explosives, and anti-personnel mines buried (for three decades) in agricultural land, within the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. The sad truth is that not a single effective step was taken to stop this bloody, Yerevan-based attacker. If not for this cruel patronage from the international and Western community, this armed conflict would not have lasted 30 years and the situation would not have reached this point.

Despite the obvious double standards, double standards, and discrimination, the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev was able to resolutely overcome all obstacles with his wise policy, tremendous leadership, and forward-thinking patriotic decisions.

In today's world, it is not international law and justice, but the factor of power that is in the foreground: if you are strong, you are taken into account, but if you are weak, you are ignored. Taking this bitter reality into account, the President set himself the goal of turning Azerbaijan into a strong and powerful state. He strengthened the army in every possible way and organized constant, tireless, and thoughtful work at the level of diplomacy. Over the years, Azerbaijan became stronger and more powerful, a factor to be reckoned with in the world. What the Great National Leader Heydar Aliyev said with amazing foresight many years ago, was ripe in the fall of 2020.

Azerbaijani President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev, withdrew from pointless negotiations and ordered the army to launch an attack. This was done immediately after the aggressor Armenia made public statements about “a new war for new territories”, orchestrating incessant provocations on the border and near the occupied territories. President Aliyev provided a clear and explicit answer to those who believed that "war was not an option": we will liberate our lands at all costs, said the president.

And so it happened. The idea of a Strong Azerbaijan - Strong Army resulted in a real change in the geopolitical structure of Eurasia. The brave people and the Patriotic War under the leadership of the Victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the glorious Army of Azerbaijan ended the occupation, and justice was restored. Today, the Republic of Azerbaijan enjoys high prestige on the world stage and maintains admirable levels of economic and financial growth.

Translated from Spanish by Fatima Hasanova

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