"Unfortunately, after the occupation of Shusha, all historical monuments and cultural sites, including the mausoleum of Vagif, were destroyed by the vandals", said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the official opening ceremony of the Vagif Poetry Days, APA reports.
"As you know, the decision to erect the mausoleum of Molla Panah Vagif in Shusha was made by great leader Heydar Aliyev. On his initiative, the mausoleum was opened here on 14 January, in snowy and frosty weather. This was no ordinary event. Because Shusha was a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region at the time. As you know, the Armenians had claims to Shusha for many years, tried to portray Shusha as an Armenian city. However, there was no historical or cultural basis for that. We must also take into account that Molla Panah Vagif was not only a poet, but also a vizier of the Karabakh khan. During the Soviet era, Soviet ideology and the Soviet government's approach to history was such that khanates were described as a black spot in history. Despite all this, as a result of the resolve and determination of the great leader, this mausoleum was erected and Shusha was reaffirmed as an Azerbaijani city again.
Unfortunately, after the occupation of Shusha, all historical monuments and cultural sites, including the mausoleum of Vagif, were destroyed by the vandals. The occupation of Shusha was a great tragedy of our people. Because Shusha is the cradle of Azerbaijani culture. Shusha has a great symbolic meaning in the history of Azerbaijan. Shusha is the crown of Karabakh. After the occupation of Shusha, other districts and cities were occupied as well. Of course, the strategic importance of Shusha was lost for us, and the enemy took advantage of this and occupied Lachin a few days later – in May 1992. A year later, in April 1993, they occupied Kalbajar, thus establishing a geographical link between the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and Armenia. Our defeat was inevitable, given that there was a period of chaos in Azerbaijan at that time. There was no regular army and there was civil confrontation", said President.
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