President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has addressed the nation today to congratulate all the people of the republic on the liberation of Kalbajar district. Under the deal signed on November 9, the Armenian armed forces were to completely withdraw from Kalbajar on November 15, but Baku gave Yerevan postponement for troops withdrawal from Kelbajar until November 25. Today, units of the Azerbaijan Army entered the Kalbajar region.
"I heartily congratulate all the people of Azerbaijan on this occasion. Dear people of Kalbajar, let your eyes be clear! Your native district has been liberated from occupation. The people of Azerbaijan have been looking forward to this day for years. Kalbajar district was occupied on 2 April 1993. Innocent people were savagely expelled from their ancestral lands. The historical sites and nature of Kalbajar have been severely damaged," he recalled in the first place.
"Kalbajar is our ancient land. It is the land of ancient Azerbaijan. Kalbajar is one of our largest districts in terms of territory. The historical sites of Kalbajar are our great asset. Both mosques and churches are our historical treasures. The people of Azerbaijan know this well, and the whole world should know that churches in Kalbajar belong to the ancient state of Caucasian Albania. There are many historical documents confirming this. This is no secret," Ilham Aliyev noted.
"Armenian 'historians' and fraudsters have simply Armenianized ancient Albanian churches, added their own inscriptions on them and appropriated these churches. Suffice it to look at history and anyone can see that in the 1830s, Tsarist Russia abolished the Albanian Church, gave all the property of the Albanian Church to the Armenian Gregorian Church, and Armenian priests and their patrons began to appropriate these churches. Their main task was to erase the history of Caucasian Albania. But we did not allow that to happen. Azerbaijan has a broad scientific base on this issue. There are research works available. These works are and should be shared not only with the scientific community, but also with the world community as a whole," the Azerbaijani president urged.
"Caucasian Albania was a great state. Gabala was its capital. Historical sites and churches belonging to Caucasian Albania are our historical and cultural heritage. We are protecting these churches. I have visited these churches many times – in the city of Shaki, in Gabala district, the Udi church. As you know, during the war, on the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the repairs of the ancient Udi Caucasian Albanian Church in Nij settlement was completed and this church was opened. We are protecting these churches as our cultural heritage. Therefore, no-one should be worried. These churches will continue to be protected by the state," the Azerbaijani leader stated.
"Kalbajar district has fascinating nature and diverse cultural heritage. Several of our large rivers originate in Kalbajar district. The largest of them is the Tartar River, which is 200 kilometers long. There are also the Bazarchay and Khachinchay. Their length is about 200 kilometers. These rivers feed a large area. But the hated enemy deprived us of these opportunities because the Tartar River flows into the Sarsang water reservoir built on the initiative of great leader Heydar Aliyev in the 1970s. The Sarsang water reservoir was built to provide irrigation to 6-7 districts of the Aran zone of Karabakh at the time. At that time, after the construction of the Sarsang water reservoir, 100,000 hectares of land that had never been irrigated started receiving water. Aghdam, Goranboy, Yevlakh, Barda, Tartar and other districts were irrigated from there. The hated enemy cut off water supply. It cut off water supply in the summer and released it in the winter, thus flooding the lands. There was also environmental terror against us," Ilham Aliyev said.
"Armenia is a terrorist state, and there are many signs of this terror. There are signs of the destruction of our historical sites, the genocide against our civilian population, deforestation, changing the course of our rivers and other signs. There are 24,000 hectares of forest in Kalbajar district. This is our great asset. The hated enemy cut down, looted and sold these trees. Look at the ugly things they have been doing in recent days, burning forests to create an environmental catastrophe. These thieves cut down forests and take them to Armenia for sale. They burn down houses they did not build. They entered the houses of the people of Kalbajar, broke into them and lived there. They burn down schools and kill pets they can't take with them," the head of state recalled.
Thus, he stressed that the Karabakh war victory is a victory over the Armenian fascism. "We will restore Kalbajar, let no-one have any doubts about that, and life will return there. Agriculture will develop in Kalbajar, especially livestock breeding. We have large pastures there. Kalbajar has ample natural resources. The enemy has brutally exploited these resources. In Soviet times, Istisu water, which was popular throughout the Soviet Union, was produced in Kalbajar. Istisu is under our control again now. It used to be a big resort. The hated enemy has destroyed everything. There are images of that and everyone can see them. We will restore all of that, we will rebuild Kalbajar, the villages, the city of Kalbajar. I have ordered to prepare a master plan for the reconstruction of the city – not only in the city of Kalbajar but also in all other cities, and life will return there," the Azerbaijani leader assured.
Ilham Aliyev said that illegal settlement in Kalbajar was conducted. "People from Armenia and foreign countries have settled there illegally. This is a war crime, a war crime under the Geneva Convention. We will hold the enemy accountable. They will answer for all the war crimes, for all this destruction. When I was in Aghdam, I could not find a single safe building. The same applies to Fuzuli and Jabrayil. They have destroyed everything, as if a savage tribe had passed through. First of all, all the damage will be calculated with the participation of international experts. Then lawsuits will be filed. Then comes the reconstruction of our cities and villages on the basis of master plans. The necessary measures related to agriculture, other infrastructure projects, water and electricity will be taken. Then come roads. When we drove the enemy out of Shusha, it destroyed the water line feeding the city. There is no water in Shusha now. This is what the enemy is like," he noted.
"We have won the information war. We have won the war on the battlefield, we have won the war in the information space, we have won the war in the political arena. The results of the war just as I said. We liberated Jabrayili, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, Murovdag, Sugovushan, Hadrut, most of Khojavand district and Shusha by military means. The war showed again who is who. Armenia is a defeated country. Azerbaijan is a victorious country. Kalbajar is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!" the Azerbaijani president concluded.
