President Aliyev unveils statue of folk artist Ashig Alasgar Highlights deportations of Azerbaijani people in 20th century

On September 30, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, along with his son Heydar Aliyev, participated in the unveiling ceremony of a statue dedicated to the prominent figure of Azerbaijani ashug art and great folk artist, Ashig Alasgar, in Baku, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

In his speech at the ceremony, President Aliyev emphasized the significance of honouring Ashig Alasgar’s legacy: “We are unveiling the statue to Ashiq Alasgar, a prominent representative of Azerbaijan’s ashiq art, in the center of Baku. This is a truly wonderful event.”

“I signed two decrees three years ago to perpetuate the name of Ashiq Alasgar. On the basis of the first decree, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ashiq Alasgar was celebrated at state level. The second decree envisaged the establishment of a statue of Ashiq Alasgar. Today, in this beautiful place of Baku, actually in the center of our city, in a beautiful park, we are unveiling the statue of Ashiq Alasgar,” the president added.

Shifting his focus to the historical challenges faced by the Azerbaijani people, President Aliyev highlighted the waves of deportations they endured in the 20th century. He noted, “Our nation was subjected to three waves of deportations in the 20th century – first in 1918, second in the 1940-50s and third in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After a certain period of time, after the two deportations, the Azerbaijani people returned to their ancestral lands, not all of them but a large part of them did. This makes us legitimately confident that the Western Azerbaijanis who were subjected to the third wave of ethnic cleansing will also return to their ancestral lands.”

The president also touched upon the ongoing resettlement of Azerbaijani citizens to Karabakh and East Zangezur: “We are seeing the indomitable spirit of the Azerbaijani people in the example of our compatriots returning to Karabakh and East Zangezur.”

“Our compatriots from Karabakh and East Zangezur, who had not seen those lands before, are eagerly and impatiently waiting for the day of their return. They are looking forward to the implementation of the Great Return program. In fact, this program is already underway. The people of Karabakh who had never lived in those lands but lived with the dream of returning to those lands are now returning to Karabakh. I am sure that we will see the same during the return to Western Azerbaijan,” the Azerbaijani leader noted.

By Khagan Isayev