Azerbaijan Press Council issues address to President Ilham Aliyev

The Board of the Azerbaijan Press Council has issued an address to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Azernews reports.

The address states that October 15 marks 20 years of President Ilham Aliyev’s leadership of the country.

The address also says: “You are the head of state who has managed to become the President and Leader for every Azerbaijani in the last 20 years. These are not just words, but an absolute and undeniable reality, a reality that has a living history. Thanks to you, the last 20 years have been a great and glorious history in the mind of every citizen and indeed everyone whose heart beats with the love of Azerbaijan. This history has been made by you. Azerbaijan's comprehensive progress and all-round development, the fact that our country has secured itself a worthy place among nations of the world are all products of your selfless work.

Like representatives of all segments of our society, the media also experience this sense of pride and jubilation. We are happy to see and hear that your principled and decisive position is for the benefit of Azerbaijan. By declaring the position of our state and your views as President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief in an explicit manner, you have set perfect examples of political speech and public style as a whole. This is what fills our hearts with great sympathy and pride.

Your attention to journalism, your sensitive approach to the reputation of our profession and the value you give to our mission of promoting the truth about our country are examples of high appreciation. You have clearly demonstrated the role of the media in public administration, in international relations, in the struggle for national interests. You have highlighted the importance of consistent communication with journalists.

Therefore, we take every idea you express in your media-related remarks as a roadmap for the further development of our field. Your sensitive approach to the media and the press, the special importance you attach to contacts with journalists were clearly manifested on the National Press Day this year, when the International Media Forum was held in our sacred and dear city of Shusha. You have created a perfect institutional framework that makes it a tradition to give high value to the journalistic profession at state level and mobilizes the potential of our journalists for the protection of the interests of our state and society. As a result of your reforms, our profession has an organized structure today. The activities carried out by the Media Development Agency established on the basis of your order and the adoption of the Law “On the Media” fully meeting international standards have introduced a fundamentally new approach to the field. All these have set new goals before us. We will do our best to live up to your confidence at the level of your expectations. Of course, we also understand perfectly well that justifying the confidence of a world-class statesman like you is truly an exceptional responsibility.

Dear Mr. President, you have shown the world some unique examples of a brilliant political personality, a great military strategist and an unparalleled master of waging a righteous war on the information front, at the level of the media and press. During the Patriotic War, your interviews with the world's leading media and well-known journalists, as well as your TV appearances, instilled in our people and Army a fighting spirit and a miraculous determination to win. These are forever engraved in history as master classes for both political figures and media representatives. The results of your hard work are obvious. Today, you are leading the great Azerbaijan, a country where dreams do come true. The main line of dreams and ideas of the past 20 years has been the Karabakh cause. We can say with certainty that your leadership qualities have transformed this mission into a nationwide movement, a movement that has brought happiness to our people and elevated you to the status of a Victorious commander. We can say with confidence today that the soul of our National Leader Heydar Aliyev is rejoicing. Because the struggle for Karabakh, which he started, has reached its logical conclusion – Victory resulting from your leadership qualities and character. For this reason, while conveying to you our heartfelt thoughts regarding the 20th anniversary of your activity as head of state, we also consider it our duty to express our deep gratitude to you on the occasion of complete liberation of Azerbaijani lands from occupation and the restoration of the sovereignty of our state over all its territories.

Dear Mr. President, we once again convey our infinite gratitude to you on behalf of the army of thousands of journalists of Azerbaijan for making our nation feel endless joy and pride during your leadership. May God protect you! May God protect our homeland!”