President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva have lit the holiday bonfire in Sugovushan settlement, Tartar district.

The head of state then congratulated the people of Azerbaijan. AZERTAC presents the message of congratulation.

Message of congratulation of President Ilham Aliyev

-Dear brothers and sisters,

I heartily congratulate you on the occasion of Novruz holiday.

This is the second time since our historic victory that we are celebrating Novruz in our native Karabakh land. I know that each of us, especially the former IDPs, were always saying on the eve of and on the holidays that we would celebrate the next Novruz in the liberated lands, in Karabakh, and this is already a reality. This is the second time we are celebrating this beautiful spring holiday in the liberated lands. Today, I lit the Novruz bonfire here in Sugovushan, the ancient land of Azerbaijan. Last year, I celebrated Novruz in Shusha, on the Jidir Duzu, which is so dear to each of us, and addressed the people of Azerbaijan from there. I am glad and happy that it has already become a tradition to celebrate Novruz here in our native land of Karabakh.

Sugovushan is a historic place of ancient Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani people have lived in these areas for centuries. However, in 1923, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was established illegally and without any grounds in our native Karabakh. The beautiful places of Karabakh were included in this so-called entity, including the city of Shusha and the settlement of Sugovushan. This was yet another injustice, yet another act of enmity against our people. Because Karabakh and its history are connected with the Azerbaijani people. The Azerbaijani people have lived in Karabakh for centuries. The so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region functioned here for many years during the Soviet era for purely political purposes. As you know, the Armenians pursued a policy of aggression against our people, and our native Karabakh and a part of East Zangazur were in the hands of Armenians for about 30 years. It had to end and it did. We saw that no negotiations or political steps were bringing us any closer to our goal. We saw and knew that we must be stronger and more determined to protect our rights and restore historical justice. The Azerbaijani state, the Azerbaijani Army, all our Armed Forces fulfilled this historic mission in 2020. We fought, shed blood, gave martyrs, liberated our homeland from Armenian occupation and returned to Karabakh. We have already settled here, we have returned here, we have returned to our homeland. Large-scale landscaping work is currently underway in all of Karabakh and East Zangazur. Cities are being rebuilt, villages are being rebuilt. Of course, our main goal is to return the former IDPs to their homeland as soon as possible.

Landscaping and construction works is in full swing in Sugovushan as well. Today I took part in several ceremonies here, including the restoration of residential buildings and the creation of tourist zones. In general, construction and landscaping work is underway in both Karabakh and East Zangazur. We must rebuild more than 10,000 square kilometers in a short period of time, with great efficiency and quality. Because during the occupation, the loathsome enemy destroyed all our cities and villages, destroyed and desecrated all our historical sites. We are a nation that builds and creates. Although just over a year has passed since the war, we are already building. I am confident that we will achieve all the plans and goals. In fact, we are already achieving them. These are the realities of the present-day Azerbaijan. The strong Azerbaijan of today is capable of doing all this. There is political will, there is economic power, our people are mobilized, national solidarity is at the highest peak, and, of course, our glorious and historic victory is a source of pride for each of us. We are rightly proud to be citizens of a victorious state. We are proud of our army and we are proud of our people. We are proud of our young people who made us happy, and we will be proud of them forever. We have returned to Karabakh and East Zangazur forever, and we will live here in our historical lands forever.

As I look at these beautiful places today, I see again just how beautiful our land is and how majestic our mountains are. We will add beauty and pleasure to all this historical beauty, and Azerbaijanis will live here comfortably, in peace, tranquility and security. The guarantor of peace and security is the Azerbaijani state and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

I am happy to convey congratulations to my dear people on the occasion of Novruz holidays from a liberated Karabakh. On this dear day, I would like to once again congratulate all the people of Azerbaijan on this wonderful holiday. I want to say again that I will continue to do my best to ensure that Azerbaijan always develops rapidly, goes uphill and fulfills all the tasks ahead. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!