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Fatima Latifova

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On September 23, during his participation in the first session of the National Assembly, President Ilham Aliyev discussed the strategic tasks facing Azerbaijan, clarifying key points related to these tasks. Notably, the prioritization of ensuring ideological security as a core objective highlights the need for Azerbaijan's security concept to create a more resilient security model.

It should be noted that the country's security system is already well-structured. The fact that all attempts to destabilize the country and threaten public safety have failed to this day proves this point.

Speaking to Azernews, political analyst Tofiq Abbasov noted that President Ilham Aliyev addressed topics of special importance for Azerbaijan in his speech:

“When the President spoke at the first plenary session of the National Assembly, he addressed the principle of security, which is not only crucial for Azerbaijan but also for the international community. This is no coincidence."

The expert explained the harms caused by ideological provocations to the public:

"We can take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of the difficulties caused by ideological provocation. The spread of this virus, and people feeling powerless in the face of it, benefitted certain groups. Some even believe that the creation of a microbe similar to COVID is just a matter of time. All of this is the result of propaganda and misleading the public."

Abbasov also highlighted that propaganda continues in the South Caucasus:

"Certain forces, countries, and powers using Armenia are trying to destabilize our region and falsely portray Azerbaijan as the culprit. They claim that Azerbaijan violated Armenia's rights and allegedly deported Armenians living in Garabagh. Of course, all of these claims are fabrications."

Abbasov clarified the responsibilities of Azerbaijani citizens:

"The President stated that the issue of security is a strategic matter for us. So, what should we do? As Azerbaijanis, we must preserve the unity and solidarity in our country. The unity between Azerbaijan’s leadership and its people is a successful model, and we must constantly work toward strengthening it."

The expert also reminded how dangerous the media environment has become:

"The media has, in many cases, strayed from its original duties, turning into a propaganda machine through which certain groups deceive people and present lies as truth. Our society is sufficiently educated, vigilant, and prepared. However, Armenian media and the media of countries supporting Armenia are trying to tarnish Azerbaijan’s reputation and create problems for us."

Abbasov reiterated that Azerbaijan is fully justified in liberating its lands from terrorism and separatism:

"Azerbaijan has never attacked any country or posed a threat to anyone. It has put an end to terrorism and separatism on its own territory, which has apparently angered the West and some of its institutions. This is incomprehensible. For years, Armenians devastated our lands, destroying all cities and villages, but the West remained silent. Now that we are resolving these issues and restoring international order in our region, it seems we are causing problems for them."

The analyst also pointed out the West’s prior indifference to Azerbaijan's international calls:

"Nearly one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons were ignored by the international community. No one heard their cries, yet now Azerbaijan is being accused of creating problems for Armenians and carrying out ethnic cleansing."

Political analyst Asif Narimanli evaluated ideological provocations from several perspectives:

"According to international practice, ideological confrontations often escalate during times of war. Creating confusion in the public opinion of the opposing side to influence the course of the war is nothing new. We saw such attempts in the war with Armenia, where we encountered ideological provocations through information channels. However, just as in the war, Azerbaijan emerged victorious in the ideological struggle as well."

The expert noted that Armenia’s ideological provocations are to be expected:

"Going forward, it is natural to expect continued efforts by Armenia and its supporters to make similar attempts. However, their capacity to influence is not what it once was."

Narimanli also drew attention to the potential harm that ideological provocations could inflict on national identity:

"Ideological provocations are generally directed at national identity. Since Azerbaijan’s national identity is strong, the impact of such propaganda is minimal. However, such provocations cannot be entirely ruled out. Especially from neighboring countries, there have been attempts to replace Azerbaijan’s national identity with religious identity, forming identity through religious ideologies."

The expert noted that these processes are happening globally:

"This is a worldwide phenomenon, and Azerbaijan is one of the targets of these processes. However, unlike Armenia and Georgia, these efforts manifest themselves much less in Azerbaijan. This stems from the strength of both our national identity and our moral values."

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Fatima Latifova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter:

@fatimalatifova

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