Today.Az » Politics » Once raised flag never falls!
28 May 2016 [00:02] - Today.Az
/By Azernews/
"Once raised flag never falls!" was the motto of
glorious independence movement in Azerbaijan in the beginning of the
20th century.
The words written gold in the national history by Mammad
Amin Rasulzade, brightest and most prominent political figure, were the major
slogan while declaring Azerbaijan's
independence. That was the very moment when the Declaration of Independence was
announced in 1918.
This was the very expression sounded by many Azerbaijanis
across the world encouraging them to be proud of their country and nation, who
made its historic dream a reality.
Exactly 98 years ago on May 28 Azerbaijan
established its Democratic Republic -- the first secular state in the Muslim
East. Thus for the first time on this day, Azerbaijani Democratic Republic
entered the world political map as a new state.
The historical, political and brightest figure of Azerbaijan
Mammad Amin Rasulzade was the founder of the first independent republic in the
Muslim East.
The ADR, which existed only twenty-three months in
1918-1920, was a pioneer that combined both European democratic values and the
abundant cultural heritage of the East in one entity.
The delegation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which
was sent to Paris
under the Parliament's decision, was the first diplomatic mission tasked with
expressing the will of the nation and its quest for independence.
The Azerbaijani delegation was able to meet U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson on May 28, 1919.
President Wilson was given a copy of the memorandum which
was presented at the Paris Peace Conference. The document consisted of three
clauses: a memorandum on the independence of the Caucasian Azerbaijan with a
description of its boundaries on a special sheet with a map; a memorandum on Azerbaijan's economic and financial condition
with an economic map; a memorandum on Azerbaijan's ethnic composition
with diagrams and an ethnographic map.
The ADR carried out its activities in a very tense and
difficult social and political situation that arose within and outside the
country. The measures undertaken by the state for a short period left a large
footprint in the history of the nation.
All citizens of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic,
regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation, were granted the right to
vote. Thus, women gained suffrage for the first time in the Islamic world.
They fought for the independence of Azerbaijan to
the end, as samurai and this struggle was not meaningless and useless. Although
the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic fell as a result of external aggression, its
activity was important to follow the historical fate of the Azerbaijani people.
Azerbaijani
Soviet Socialist
Republic, proclaimed in
April 1920, heralded the preservation of its political independence. However,
with creation of the USSR, Azerbaijan has
actually lost its independence, which featured only formally, but with the
attributes of statehood, constitution, and territory boundaries.
National leader Heydar Aliyev highly appreciated this
glorious page in Azerbaijan's
history.
“Though the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic survived only for
23 months in complicated and tense socio-political situation it will always
stay in the memory of future generations as one of the brightest pages of our
history,” said Heydar Aliyev. “Though it was not able to implement fully the
measures undertaken in spheres of the state system establishment, economics,
culture, education, public health, military policy yet those measures
implemented played a great role in the history of our country and in the
restoration of the national state system establishment. The most important
matter is that the ADR strengthened our democratic views though it existed
within a short period of time. The people of Azerbaijan will always honor the
memory of the prominent state officials that served to the establishment of
that republic -- Mamed Emin Rasulzade, Alimerdan bey Topchubashev, Fatali khan
Khoyski ...”
The "fathers" and founders of the ADR managed to
nurture a national idea which finally gained a foothold in the mid 1990s,
following the strengthening of the fragile independence of Azerbaijan
after national leader Heydar Aliyev came to power.
|