Speech by Ilham Aliyev during a trip to Fuzuli district

- It is Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan today. All Azerbaijani people commemorate the dear memory of our martyrs. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace. Our martyrs sacrificed their lives for the Motherland. We are proud of them. We are proud of our heroic soldiers and officers. The blood of our martyrs did not remain unavenged. We have avenged the blood of our martyrs. We took our revenge on the battlefield. We freed our native lands from the enemy and restored the territorial integrity of our country.

The 44-day Patriotic War is our glorious history. The people of Azerbaijan mobilized all their strength, united like a fist and expelled the enemy from our native land. The Azerbaijani people have shown unity and resolve. Thanks to the sacrifice and heroism of our heroic soldiers and officers, we are building and creating in the liberated lands, restoring our cities and villages. And we are proud of our glorious Victory. At the same time, we are proud that we, the owners of these lands, are bringing life back to these lands.

In honor of our martyrs, this monument, this piece of stone, has been erected here near the village of Garakhanbayli. Garakhanbayli and five other villages were liberated on the first day of the Second Karabakh War. Garakhanbayli, Garvand, Horadiz village, Yukhari Abdurrahmanli – the villages of Fuzuli district, and villages of Jabrayil district – Boyuk Marjanli and Nuzgar – were liberated on the first day of the war. We lost the first martyrs exactly here, in this place. The enemy's trench was located next to this monument. There were five or six lines of defense in this direction. Azerbaijani soldiers and officers looked death in the eye as they broke through this and subsequent defense lines. They were literally facing death, sacrificing their lives so that our tricolor flag could fly in Shusha and all other lands that were occupied at the time. They sacrificed their lives so that the people of Azerbaijan could restore their dignity, restore justice and return our people to these lands.
Our Victory march started in this direction as we broke through the enemy's first line of defense. For 44 days, the Azerbaijan Army moved forward every single day. Every day, without stopping, without pausing, tirelessly, we went forward, shedding blood and giving martyrs, but advancing towards Victory. We didn't stop even for a day. We didn't step back even for a day but went forward, chasing the enemy on the battlefield and winning the historic Victory. Nearly 300 towns and villages were liberated from the enemy in 44 days. The enemy was forced to sign an act of capitulation and accepted their defeat. They were forced to withdraw from the lands still under occupation at the time.

We are a happy generation that this glorious mission has fallen upon us. We are a happy generation that we are both witnesses and participants of this historical event. The next generations will always be proud of this glorious history. We are proud that we are children of this land. We are proud that we have restored our rights on the battlefield, defeated the enemy, and from now on, we will live forever as a victorious nation, as a victorious country.
Today, remembering the dear memory of our martyrs, we must make a promise to ourselves, we must make an oath that we will forever stand guard over our independence, we will forever stand guard over our territorial integrity. We will not let the enemy raise its head again. We will not allow them to pose a threat to us again. If we see it, we will act immediately. I am sure it won't be necessary because the increasing power of our country, including military might, is the guarantor of our independence and comfortable life.
Once again, praying for peace for our martyrs, I must state that their dear memory will forever live in the hearts of the Azerbaijani people.