By Trend
Every cultural figure, every citizen of Azerbaijan, all Azerbaijanis living in different parts of the world walk proudly thanks to the wise and victorious policy of the country’s President Ilham Aliyev, the famous Azerbaijani sculptor, cavalier of the Shohrat and Sharaf state orders, Secretary of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan, Vice-Rector of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts, Professor Salhab Mammadov said in his interview to Trend.
“I often make trips abroad, meet with representatives of various professions and spheres, communicate and see the respect and authority of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and all this increased even more after the glorious victory in the 44-day Second Karabakh War [from late September to early November 2020], when, under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, our valiant army defeated the Armenian occupiers,” Mammadov noted.
“For about 30 years, our lands were under the occupation, and each of us had a big moral heaviness, a feeling of resentment with the fact that our ancient Karabakh, the citadel of national culture and art, was occupied by Armenia, which also negatively affected creativity, and now we are relieved,” he reminded. “Look who achieved this victory at the cost of their blood – young people who never saw Karabakh, but were brought up on high moral and patriotic feelings, knew history, traditions, customs, and culture, and all this came from each family hearth, was the personification of selfless love for the Motherland. All these years, President Ilham Aliyev has been the leader of Azerbaijan, this large family. Today we enjoy the freedom and strive to create even more. The head of state gave us great happiness!"
According to the professor, the Azerbaijani president plays a great role in the development, prosperity, and promotion of the national culture.
“Many events dedicated to our art are held in the country and abroad, significant projects are being implemented, the cultural figures [of Azerbaijan] see constant care and attention of the head of state. Monuments to outstanding figures that reflect our history are installed in various cities of the world. It’s important that namely thanks to the respect and authority, attitude to culture and the role of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in world politics, the best places, centers and city parks are allocated for the monuments,” the professor further said.
“For example, I’m one of the authors of monuments installed in European cities: the monument "Khojaly" was installed in 2011 in the garden of the famous Gottfried Benn library in Berlin, a monument to the outstanding Azerbaijani poet and thinker of the 12th century Nizami Ganjavi – in 2012 in the Villa Borghese park in Rome, monuments to our poetesses Mehseti Ganjavi and Khurshidbanu Natavan – in 2016 in the central parks of the French cities of Cognac and Evian, and in 2017 the opening of the sculptural composition "Thoughts and Dreams" commemorating the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijan's membership in the UN in the Ariana Park in front of the Palace of Nations in Geneva was held. These are very significant events, realized thanks to the attitude of the world community to the personality of Ilham Aliyev," the sculptor stressed.
Mammadov noted the exceptional role of the president in the restoration of the liberated territories of the country and the cultural sphere.
"First of all, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev returned the monuments of Khurshidbanu Natavan, Uzeyir Hajibayli and Bulbul [famous Azerbaijani composer and singer] to the city of Shusha, instructed to carry out restoration and renovation work in the destroyed mosques and architectural monuments. In a short time, the monument to Vagif [famous Azerbaijani poet of the 18th century] in Shusha was restored, the festival of Kharybulbul and Days of Vagif’s Poetry held,” he also noted. “People without cultural roots can never become good warriors. Great leader Heydar Aliyev always treated culture and art with special attention and love, became an ideal for every Azerbaijani not only as a talented leader of the country but also as a comprehensively developed personality. He preserved our statehood and independence, revived the economy, put the country on the path of development and prosperity. President Ilham Aliyev continued this policy and multiplied the achievements.”
Thanks to his wisdom, determination, high intellect, authority in the international arena, the president consolidated all Azerbaijanis in the world who are ready to stand up to defend their native land at any time, Mammadov pointed out.
“We clearly saw this during the 44-day war, and this continues today. I have a lot of friends from different countries. I meet, talk, debate with them. They are happy and proud that we have such a President! Despite living many years abroad, they don’t alienate themselves from their homeland. Cultural figures from different countries also express their sincere admiration for our head of state. They say that the Azerbaijani people are happy to have such a President. Ilham Aliyev is an outstanding leader of our time! They say that only such a leader could achieve a historic victory in the 44-day war," the sculptor said emphasizing the high human qualities of the head of state.
"One of the main formulas for the success of President Ilham Aliyev is his humanity and high level of education, knowledge of the history of Azerbaijan and world history, kind and sincere attitude to people, concern for the fate of the people and every citizen of the country. His aura and warmth alone give us confidence in today and tomorrow," Mammadov said. "At various exhibitions and events, one always gets the impression that the president is a very close and dear person who always and in everything seeks to help with his advice and real deeds. All these qualities, love for the Motherland, care for everyone, the level of erudition and political will make Ilham Aliyev a world leader!"
"We are happy to live in Azerbaijan and have such a leader, we are sincerely proud. Everything I said was from the bottom of my heart!" concluded Mammadov.
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