Heydar Aliyev is such a rare historic figure occupying a special place in the national history of Azerbaijan that the wealth of his legacy will long be in the focus of political experts, philosophers, historians and other researchers. He became a living legend and won the boundless love of the Azerbaijanis all over the world thanks to his unprecedented contribution to the Azerbaijani people’s struggle for independence.

Heydar Aliyev proved his foresight and resolve as a politician back when he was first helming the country during 1969-1982. In those years, Azerbaijan made outstanding achievements in state-building, economy, sciences and culture and, in a word, in the most diverse areas. That was a period of vigorous progress. It was in those years that practical steps were taken to preserve the national and spiritual values and to advance the traditions of statehood including of parliamentarism; a solid foundation was laid for the demonstration of the intellectual qualities of the nation.

Not only is Heydar Aliyev the maker of today’s Azerbaijani State but he is also, and rightfully, the founder of the modern parliament of the country. Just as it was the case in the other Socialist republics, the laws and decisions that the Azerbaijani parliament made during the Soviet Epoch only served the political, economic and ideological ends of the Communist Party. While it is true that several cautious steps were taken towards the national and spiritual revival in the country in the 1950s and 1960s, whatever purposeful activity towards the goal only began with Heydar Aliyev’s election as the First Secretary of the CC of the CP of Azerbaijan. As the leader of the republic, Heydar Aliyev had the vision to concentrate the work of all the Soviet authority bodies, including of the parliament, on the economic, social and cultural progress of the people as well as on implementing the national revival policy. A master politician, he used the existing capacities of the supreme legislative body to lay a firm foundation of the national reawakening and the future independence.

At that time, Heydar Aliyev was the party leader in the republic as well as a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (the convocation VIII-XI), deputy chairman of the latter’s Upper House – the Soviet of the Union (the convocation XI) and a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR (the convocations (VII-X and XII) and of the latter’s Presidium. The USSR administration made five resolutions important for the economic development of Azerbaijan. Substantial financial resources were released for those goals to the republic from the Union’s Fund.

The staffing policy that Heydar Aliyev pursued provided for the ablest and most suitable people to be picked in all the areas and the legislative body was no exception. There was a great turn in the work of the Supreme Soviet; new and permanent commissions began to function in the parliament that encompassed various facets of life in the country. Legal frameworks were built for the economic, cultural and scientific advancement of the republics; dozens of laws and decisions were made in connection with those areas. Heydar Aliyev was initiating important measures to strengthen the legislation in the republic during that period.

The 1970s and the early 1980s saw addenda and amendments in the Civil, Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure codes of Azerbaijan. Laws were passed on the judicial system, health care, state notary services, public education, protection of the monuments of history and culture, the Soviet of Ministers, the Soviet of People’s Deputies, land and labour and the codes of Administrative Offences and of Marriage and Family.

The supreme legislative body of Azerbaijan went through various position and authority stages in the structure of power during the Soviet time. The parliament was called the Supreme Soviet in accordance with the new Constitution that was adopted in 1937. How it was formed was modified in a certain way. However, the rule of the reactionary Soviet ideology and the unprecedented sweep of repressions held the people in the grip of fear and downplayed the essence of those changes considerably. That was precisely why the parliament members who were elected during 1937-38 and in the later years could not protest against the destruction of the progressive-minded intellectuals and the hand-overs of the lands to Armenia bit by bit. Consequently, the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR affirmed, under the pressure from on high, the protocol of giving Armenia 2 million hectares of land in the Lachin, Gubadli, Kalbajar and Gazakh provinces on 7 May 1938. A while later – on 7 May 1969, to be precise, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR reaffirmed that notorious resolution of 7 May 1938. Except that Heydar Aliyev who came to power shortly afterwards was able to prevent that resolution from being acted upon. That was an example of the courage unheard of in that epoch. The status of Highland Garabagh was not revised when the new USSR Constitution was in the making thanks to Aliyev’s categorical position, again.

As the leader of the republic, Heydar Aliyev was expanding gradually the legislative platform for the preservation and development of the national and spiritual wealth of the nation and was using the power of the parliament to that end skilfully. Giving the Azerbaijani language the status of a state one was one of his greatest services to the people in that period. And so, at the VII extraordinary session of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR of the convocation XI on 21 April 1978 was passed the new Constitution of the country the highlight of which for the republic was the adoption of the Article 73 that declared Azerbaijani a state language. It should be mentioned that the Soviet ideology had declared by then the emergence of the Soviet People as a new historical human community; therefore, the Russian language was being imposed as the dominant one within the USSR boundaries. The adoption of the Article 73 in under such circumstances was solely possible to the unbending will of Heydar Aliyev who had been able to persuade the then administration of the Soviet Union in the course of the most intense discussions to keep that legislative provision in effect.

The Parliament of Azerbaijan contributed importantly in the 1970s and the early 1980s to the establishment of legislative frameworks for the large-scale construction under way in the republic under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev. The animation in the work of the supreme legislative organ was closely tied to the personality of Heydar Aliyev and his administrative skill. In general, the years from 1970 till 1985 inclusively went down to the new history of Azerbaijan as the years of creation. The ninth, tenth and eleventh five-year-plan periods marked substantial milestones in the comprehensive progress of Azerbaijan for the changes occurring in the country and for the nature of the radical structural reforms in the economy and the social sector of the republic as well as in terms of the improvement of the people’s financial well-being.

The economy of the republic was very much enlivened in that period. Hundreds of plants and factories were built, and new industrial production areas were created. Azerbaijan became one of the USSR leaders in terms of production of crude oil, ferrous metals, synthetic rubber, mineral fertilisers and construction materials as well as in manufacturing oil-industry equipment, steel pipes, electrical engines, residential air-conditioners, car parts, chinaware and ceramic ware, carpets and rugs.

Many buildings, residential as well as those to house cultural establishments, were erected in Azerbaijan during those years. They were all made in the modern architectural style and today’s office building of the Azerbaijani parliament is one of those significant edifices. This very important building was made in the architectural style that had no analogues in the Soviet Union and had been approved specifically at the suggestion of Heydar Aliyev.

Heydar Aliyev understood well what role a parliament plays in public and state life; therefore, he was acted in close liaison with the supreme legislative body whilst a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR and the leader of the republic alike. He was immediately involved in the parliamentary enactment of the programmes that befell that period of the ninth, tenth and eleventh five-year-plan periods as well as of the annual budgets of the republic. He was also doing all that was within his power to revive and promote the parliamentarism traditions, and was giving his recommendations as to the workings of the supreme legislative organ. Heydar Aliyev used the rostrums of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR and of the USSR Supreme Soviet masterfully, and was guiding the work done by the parliamentarian group in Moscow in the interests of the republic.

That Heydar Aliyev introduced the pluralism of thought, a democratic and free style of thinking, a strong sense of social justice and the feeling of national consciousness to Azerbaijan at the time of the rampant predominance of the Soviet ideology was a logical outcome of precisely such a purposeful policy. Our youth acquired the needful professions in the leading academic and educational centres of the Soviet; a national personnel corps was formed. The achievements made then eventually laid the foundation for the independent Azerbaijani state. Also, it those during those years that Heydar Aliyev was not only setting higher standards for his motherland, Azerbaijan, but was also acquiring the rich administrative and statehood experience, thanks to which he subsequently became one of the most prominent politicians and statesmen in the world.

Heydar Aliyev described thus the period lived as part of the Soviet Empire, ‘Those years were, on the one hand, the years of tragedies, loss and deprivation for our people but, on the other, they played a positive role in the enlightenment of our people, its education and progress, the emergence of a great economic potential in Azerbaijan and the introduction of our people to the global spiritual values’.

Wherever Heydar Aliyev worked, he always served his nation and Motherland faithfully and never lost the link with his Azerbaijan. When he was in the USSR Administration in Moscow, too, he was doing all he could for the progress of the republic. Having conquered the Kremlin, that era’s political Olympus, Heydar Aliyev made progress very soon in all the areas he had been entrusted with as the first deputy chairman of the USSR Soviet of Ministers. In so doing, he demonstrated the administrative and statehood abilities. That had to do with his charismatic persona and the unique personal qualities. The work of this talented statesman was widely acclaimed not only in the Soviet Union but also abroad. It is not for nothing that the foreign press dubbed him ‘The Iron Muslim Leader of the Soviets’ and ‘The Kremlin Turk’.

The Soviet Union Administration were obstructing the growth of the Muslim republics and treated their peoples as the second-sort citizens while Mikhail Gorbachev was in power in the late 1980s. As regards the fictitious ‘perestroika’, it soon began to bring its bitter fruit. The relevant principled stance that Heydar Aliyev had taken in the top corridors of power of the country then resulted in his resignation and departure from the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the USSR Government alike.

Subsequently, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Armenian nationalist circles that had closed in around him further intensified the insidious pressure on Azerbaijan. The faux problem of Highland Garabagh was soon brought to the fore seeking to partition the country and plunge it in an ethnic conflict. When the people raised their voices in just protest and expressed their wish of freedom, the bloody tragedy of the 20^th of January was committed. The Soviet tanks were sent down the streets of Baku to crush the unarmed people.

That blood-spattered atrocity resulted in the deaths of 131 people in Baku and up country; 744 more were wounded and 841 others were arrested. That was truly a gory crime committed ‘to break the faith and will of the people that had risen to their feet, to humiliate them as a nation and to demonstrate the power of the Soviet military machine’. (HEYDAR ALIYEV, a quote from his speech delivered at the event held on 19 January 2003 to commemorate the 13^th anniversary of the 20^th of January Tragedy).

Heydar Aliyev proved again in those tragic days that he was together with the people. Having come to the permanent mission of the republic in Moscow, he made a statement unmasking the treacherous stance of the Centre and of the administration of Azerbaijan. That bold political statement marked the beginning of a new era and not only in Azerbaijan but also in the whole USSR. (The text of the statement)

Scared by the high reputation of Heydar Aliyev in the Soviet Union, the chauvinists tried to follow his every step and isolate him from the developments under way in the country. Heydar Aliyev never concealed his desire to return to Azerbaijan despite the pressure applied by Moscow. Meanwhile, the Centre was obstructing fulfilment of that desire in every way. Still, the great politician returned to his Motherland on 20 July 1990 in defiance of all the dangers awaiting him because he could not remain indifferent to the fate of his own people. He was not allowed to live in Baku; so, he left for Nakhchivan where he had been born and bred on the 22^nd of July.

The population of Nakhchivan welcomed Heydar Aliyev in great crowds. His return to Nakhchivan in that period of the moral suffering suffocating the nation and the political, social, military and moral crisis that the people had to endure caused an elation amongst the population of the republic. It also gave them faith in the future. The reputation of Heydar Aliyev was weighty enough not only in Nakhchivan but all over the republic. That worried the time’s Establishment and Moscow alike. In reality, Heydar Aliyev had only returned to his home country without an intention to make a political come-back. Speaking at the 1^st session of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR of the 12^th convocation later (on 9 February 1991), he commented on that return thusly, ‘…I had definitely not come to the Homeland to rise to the power at all… only to share with the nation its grief in its tribulations. To do my civil duty, to join in the struggle for freedom – this is why I am here. Nobody can take this right from me, an Azerbaijani…’

Meanwhile, the Heydar Aliyev phenomenon was concerning the authorities in the extreme, and all kinds of pressure were applied to him. The people, though, supported this outstanding politician unequivocally when the elections of the people’s deputies of the Azerbaijan SSR and of the local Soviets of People’s Deputies were conducted on 30 September 1990. Heydar Aliyev was elected an Azerbaijan SSR People’s Deputy in the first round of the election to represent the Nehram Constituency no 340. He was also elected as a People’s Deputy of the Nakhchivan ASSR for the M F Akhundov Constituency No 2.

The situation was extremely tense in Nakhchivan – as well as it was around the country – at the time. The brutality committed in Highland Garabagh by the Armenian separatists, the confusion of the administration of the republic and the Centre’s biased attitude towards Azerbaijan had brought the country to the brink of a crisis. The Soviet Union was living its last days. The wavering government of the republic demonstrated the inability to take up the rare historical chance of independence granted by the fate. Foreseeing the collapse of the Union, Heydar Aliyev also believed sincerely, thanks to his foresight, that the star of independence of Azerbaijan would shine again.

It was in such difficult time that he set about restoring the traditions of statehood in Nakhchivan. It was at his behest that the tricolour of the Democratic Republic was flown above the supreme legislative organ of the Autonomous Republic on 17 November 1990. The wording ‘Soviet Socialist’ was removed from the name of the Autonomous Republic while the legislative authority was renamed as ‘Supreme Majlis’ at that historic session over which Heydar Aliyev presided. Subsequently, the Parliament of Azerbaijan, too, decided on 5 February 1991 to rename the republic and on the state flag. The Parliament of Nakhchivan was truly setting an example for the Parliament of Azerbaijan in that period.

Heydar Aliyev delivered a profound speech while the referendum on keeping the Union of the SSRs was discussed in the Supreme Soviet in 1991. Analysing the public and political situation set in the Soviet Union and Azerbaijan alike in his speech, he brought forth the weighty arguments that the Soviet Empire was sliding towards a collapse and emphasised the importance of Azerbaijan taking steps to ensure its future independence. (The text of the speech)

Despite the serious objections of Heydar Aliyev and the democratic powers, the Parliament resolved that Azerbaijan would take part in the USSR preservation referendum. The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic did not participate in that referendum elbowed in by the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and its local branches – exclusive upon the insistence of Heydar Aliyev.

The Parliament had lost the public support and became a toy tool in the hands of the authorities due to its erroneous moves by then. The Establishment that ignored the throngs of people surrounding the parliament building tried to dictate its political will. The situation was escalating; the tensions were mounting. And, at that moment and consequent to a conspiracy between the authorities and the opposition, the mandate of the Supreme Soviet was handed over to the parity-based 50-strong National Council. The rights of the remaining 210 MPs were trampled underfoot.

The antidemocratic moves of the Supreme Soviet did not stop there: the parliament passed resolutions limiting the political field of the chairman of the Supreme Majlis of the Nakhchivan AR Heydar Aliyev. For instance, the arrangement whereby the parliament speaker of the Nakhchivan AR was also deputy speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament was eliminated. Also, an age limit was introduced for candidates for presidential elections and so forth. Regrettably, the Azerbaijani parliament did not prove able to discharge the duties that befell it during the eventual PFA-Musavat rule, either.

The then administration of Azerbaijan not barring the parliament made a wrong assessment of the processes associated with the disintegration of the USSR and, rather than put together a national platform, showed the unpardonable passiveness and indifference. Neither the republican government nor the Azerbaijani MPs in the USSR legislative body could protest against the resolutions of the USSR Government violating the sovereign rights of Azerbaijan brazenly whilst the former was in fact backing the Armenian separatist. (Here should be mentioned the Resolution of the CC of the CPSU ‘On the Measures to Accelerate the Social and Economic Growth in the HGAR of the Azerbaijan SSR during 1988-1995’ dated 24 March 1988 and the Ruling of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR ‘On Using a Special Form of Governance in the HGAR of the Azerbaijan SSR’ dated 12 February 1989). On the contrary, the Azerbaijani Parliament commended those edicts. That kind of reaction created a deep rift between the people, on the one hand, and the republican administration and parliament, on the other.

Voicing his protestations against the powers trying to keep intact the empire letting up the spirit and, first and foremost, against the Communist Party and the Soviet Government, Heydar Aliyev was unveiling their hypocritical policy bravely. He left the ranks of the Communist Party on 19 July 1991. His written application to the party unit of the USSR Cabinet of Ministers went, ‘The state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan have been violated rudely and contrary to the Constitution. There is an undeclared war going between Armenia and Azerbaijan. All this is a matter of course with the Soviet State having the so-called “humanistic ideology”’.

The people welcomed, and were heartened by the categorical refusal rejection by Heydar Aliyev of the attempts to restore the empire. The activity of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan was halted in Nakhchivan’s territory on 26 August 1991 and all the party units were disbanded. Not even the failed August Putsch of that summer could make the then Government awaken. The supporters of Ayaz Mutallibov who were in power then took a pro-Moscow position and were carrying out the commands of the Centre diligently if not ardently. Those politicos who had set foot on the path of national treason would not take the ‘Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan’ in earnest. Heydar Aliyev revealed the true nature of the treacherous course of the then country government at a relevant sitting of the Supreme Soviet held on 29-30 August 1991. (The text of the speech)

Time proved Heydar Aliyev right. In a logical development of those years’ events, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan passed the ‘Constitutional Law on State Independence’ on 18 October 1991. Sadly, though, the administration of that time was not quite capable of comprehending the responsibility they had during the first years of independence; so, they manifested the political infirmity that was pushing the country towards an economic, political and moral crisis.

It was in such a situation that Heydar Aliyev was elected chairman of the Supreme Majlis of the autonomous republic upon the insistence of the people on 3 September 1991. From day one, he began to pay close attention to state and military building, making the governance more efficient, implementing economic reforms and creating relations with other countries.

The Supreme Majlis of Nakhchivan ruled on the establishment of the State Defence Committee on 7 September the same year. Heydar Aliyev had suspended the work of the State Security Committee of Nakhchivan having discovered its collaboration with Moscow.

On 16 December 1991, the Supreme Majlis declared 31 December the World Azerbaijanis’ Solidarity Day. That was the day on which the barbed wire skirting the borders of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Iran and Turkey was removed in the course of the ‘border movement’ in Nakhchivan in late 1989. The Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Republic passed a decree making this holiday official all over the country a short while later.

The Supreme Majlis passed on 13 January 1991 the statement by Heydar Aliyev ‘On the Political Assessment of the Events in Baku in January 1990’. (The text of the statement)

Alas, Baku stayed indifferent to the matter. What happened on 20 January only had a proper political verdict passed upon after Heydar Aliyev’s return to power in the republic. The Parliament was invited with the presidential decree issued on 5 January 1994 to produce a political and legal assessment of the 20^th of January Events. Their main causes and those guilty of the tragedy were unveiled after the special session of the Milli Majlis that had lasted for several days.

The intense negotiations that Heydar Aliyev had with the command of the Soviet troops deployed in Nakhchivan and with the Russian State resulted in the 75^th motorised fusiliers’ division and the 441^st border unit turning their property over to the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and leaving the territory of Nakhchivan.

The then blockaded Nakhchivan was not slow in making up relations with the brotherly Turkey and with Iran to alleviate its position. The documents signed with those states improved the situation in which Nakhchivan was remarkably. The population evicted from Sadarak were returned to their homes soon. The Protocol of Cooperation between the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the Turkish Republic was signed on 24 March 1992. The Protocol of Cooperation in Various Areas was signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran in August that year. The airport of Nakhchivan was remade. Frontier checkpoints were built in Julfa and between Shahtakhti and Poldasht. The Sadarak Bridge was built; of the truly vital importance to the autonomous republic, it was called ‘the Bridge of Hope’ by the people.

The consular offices of the Turkish Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Nakhchivan were opened on 5 February and 8 March 1993 respectively. Heydar Aliyev met with the US, Turkish, British and French ambassadors to draw the attention of the world’s countries to the situation in Azerbaijan.

Even though he was acting in a complicated and difficult situation persisting in the autonomous republic, Heydar Aliyev was also paying close attention to the state of affairs in the culture, music and sciences in Azerbaijan. The 110^th anniversary of the prominent Azerbaijani poet Huseyn Javid was celebrated with great solemnity in Nakhchivan in 1992 at his suggestion.

The frontline situation was becoming more and more acute with each passing day during 1991-1992. Ayaz Mutallibov had to resign as the leader of the republic after the Khojali tragedy. Shusha was surrendered to the enemy through a treachery. Mutallibov forced his way back to power on 14 May but was only able to spend a day in the presidential chair. The Public Front attacked the Parliament building the next day; on 18 May, the top legislative body denounced its own resolutions made four days back. Thus, the Front members seized the power by force. Except, the domestic and foreign political mistakes they made due to their incompetence only made the as difficult situation worse still.

That power, too, was jealous of Heydar Aliyev’s influence and was no different from its predecessor. It, too, left no stone unturned to isolate him from the political developments afoot in the country. However, the intellectuals and the ordinary working people who could not stay indifferent to the fate of the nation appreciated that only the wisdom of Heydar Aliyev could save the country from the troubles threatening to engulf it. This realisation led to the address ‘Azerbaijan Hankers to Hear Your Word’ published in the ‘Ses’ (Az. “Voice”) newspaper and urging the outstanding statesman to establish a new political party and lead it. Scared by this, the Public Front used its armed force to attempt a coup in Nakhchivan to unseat Heydar Aliyev.

This is how Heydar Aliyev was recalling that time:

‘We lived under difficult conditions in Nakhchivan in October 1992 but they seemed to have decided even that was too good for us. They wanted a coup d’état in Nakhchivan. A large armed unit of the Public Front captured the ministry of internal affairs and the television. Some of their spokesmen came on television to urge the people to topple us. But they couldn’t do anything in the end. Because the people were with us. I was deprived of whatever means of communication then; so, many patriots immediately got in their cars and drove around the city districts, the nearby and farther-off villages calling on people to assemble in front of the Supreme Majlis. Up to twenty thousand decent, dignified men, women, youth and aksakals were gathered in a few hours. They shielded the then Supreme Majlis of Nakhchivan and Heydar Aliyev’.

That was the first attempted coup. Heydar Aliyev fell back on the public support to discourage the serpentine intents of those who had wanted to overthrow the statehood itself. There were to be further attempted by the armed opposition after he would have taken the power back into his hands – in October 194 and March 1995. But the people would show again that they were with Heydar Aliyev and guard unblinkingly the independent state only taking its first unsteady steps.

The New Azerbaijan Party held its constituent conference in Nakhchivan on 21 November 1992 for all the persecution and pressure from the power of that time. This party associated with the name of Heydar Aliyev is the only political organization to have held its constituent conference not in the capital city of Baku but in a blockaded province of the country. The NAP was first incepted and made an appearance on the republican scene as a political party making a mark of its own.

Meanwhile, the crisis in the country had but reached its zenith. Owing up to his inability to keep the situation in the country under control, Abulfaz Aliyev said at a meeting with the law enforcement authority personnel on the premises of the Presidential Administration on 25 May 1993, ‘The people say, “We wish we got rid of the Public Front already”. Well, I am asking the prosecution office and the courts to respond to this. Why is the republic going to pieces now?’

The separatism was raging then but the ‘national hero’ of the day Surat Huseynov was withdrawing troops from the frontlines to challenge the government. Not capable of assessing what was happening correctly, the country authorities were losing whatever weight they had with the people each day. They could not draw correct inferences from the current developments.

This is how Heydar Aliyev described that time:

‘Let nobody forget that Azerbaijan was facing the threat of partition and perish as a whole country and an independent state in 1993. A civil war had taken place in the country. Certain powers – the powers issuing forth from that same Public Front – had abused that situation in an attempt to create a new ‘republic’ in Azerbaijan’s South. A new movement had begun and a separatist sentiment had made itself quite manifest in the North. The Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan going on since 1988 on the one hand and the so very hard, so very difficult and uncontrollable internal situation in Azerbaijan on the other hand… The Armenian Armed Forces saw the opportunity and began to capture the lands of Azerbaijan rapidly and without meeting with any resistance more than often, mind you. Azerbaijan was ablaze in 1993’.

Blood was shed between brothers in Ganja on 4 June 1993 due to the mediocrity of the administration. On the very next day, the 5^th of June, the Supreme Majlis of Nakhchivan led by Heydar Aliyev released a statement about what had happened. Addressed to the people of Ganja, the grandchildren of the heroic Javad Khan, that statement expressed the firm belief that they would let the empire’s acolytes an adequate answer and keep safe our independence and the young Azerbaijani State.

‘Dear compatriots! What has happened has caused anger and resentment in Nakhchivan as it has indeed done in any part of Azerbaijan. We consider it an attempt upon our independent statehood, a blow dealt in the back of the Azerbaijani State that has only just begun to take its first hesitant steps. We consider that the criminal elements who have committed the fratricide are grist to the mill of Armenia, the aggressor, while a part of the Azerbaijan Republic is under the enemy’s heel and the developed countries of the world pay Azerbaijan the ever-increasing attention… In this grave situation we, the people’s deputies of the Nakhchivan AR, speak the minds of our electors by calling the people to unity for the sake of the Azerbaijani statehood and its preservation!’

Baku, meanwhile, kept silent. What is more, the ruling circles, totally abashed due to their helplessness and harmful acts, were voicing unreasonable ideas about moving out the population of the ancient Ganja and bombarding the city. To make the matters worse, the disjointed address by Abulfaz Elchibey in the Milli Majlis and the statement that the PFPA made on 8 June further confused everybody. It was to be expected from such unthinking and adventurous antics that the whole of Ganja got up on their feet. The political parties, societies and other organisations signed and entered a protest to the government in view of the gravity of the situation.

The note of protest read, among other things, ‘We condemn categorically as a call to civil war the speech of President A Elchibey in the Milli Majlis on 08 June 1993 and the statement by the PFA dated 09 June 1993 that only took that urge further!’

Public meetings went one after another in Ganja those days with the townspeople demanding resignation of the republican government that was dragging the country into a civil war. The people of Ganja also demanded a political verdict on what had happened in their city. A relevant address to the whole Azerbaijani people was adopted at one of those public assemblies. (The text of the address)

The authorities were flabbergasted. Forced to admit their bankruptcy in the face of such a difficult situation, the PFA functionaries, too, saw as the way out to accept the people’s will and invite Heydar Aliyev to Baku. And so, at that momentous time when the fate of our statehood was at stake, Heydar Aliyev heeded the insisted demand of the people and came to Baku thus causing an upsurge of hopes in the population of the republic. He went to Ganja on 13 June to learn the state of affairs in situ. Having done so, he said his decisive word about the Ganja Events at the very next sitting of the Milli Majlis.

Upon the insistence of the people and following its unbendable will, Heydar Aliyev was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Republic. He at the historic parliamentary sitting on the same day, saying, ‘I comprehend with complete responsibility the difficult, complicated and tense position that the Azerbaijan Republic is in. having assumed this duty, I realise my responsibility and will do everything within my power whilst being guided by this all. I consider it my chief task as chairman of the Supreme Soviet to protect, strengthen and promote the state independence of the Azerbaijan Republic as the historic achievement of the Azerbaijani people. The state independence of the Azerbaijan Republic must be ensured with reliance upon the traditions of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic that was established in 1918 as well as in accord with the modern requirements and the current global processes. I shall work tirelessly to achieve this goal and let nobody doubt that, wherever I may be, I shall devote the remaining part of my life solely to the progress of the Azerbaijan Republic as an independent state. In this connection, I should like to say that, in my opinion, the Azerbaijan Republic will not lose independent from now on whatever happens to it; it will never become a part of another state again and it will never fall under the influence of any other state’.

The election of Heydar Aliyev as a chairman of the supreme legislative body of the country was a very remarkable event. This political return truly returned Azerbaijan to the people and the people to Azerbaijan. The further developments showed that the 15^th of June was the starting date of a new political era in the independence history of Azerbaijan!

Staying true to the traditions of parliamentarism, Heydar Aliyev gave preference to the principle of openness whilst chairing the Supreme Soviet. The Milli Majlis sittings, press conferences and republican-scale meetings were aired live and straight to the television screens everywhere. The people were told of the situation in the country without varnish and distortion. The steps needed to eliminate the current social and political tensions began to be made.

President Abulfaz Elchibey left Baku secretly amidst all the hard work done to bring stability to the country. Heydar Aliyev addressed the people on the subject and urged everyone to be reserved and hold the national unity and civil solidarity on 18 June. The messages to Abulfaz Elchibey that were voiced during the Milli Majlis debates were to no avail and the Milli Majlis decided at a sitting on 24 June to pass the presidency to the chairman of the Supreme Soviet Heydar Aliyev. That meant that everything that happened was being taken under the state control and dictated by the public will from now on.

The parliamentarism traditions had the second breath and strength whilst Heydar Aliyev was helming the Supreme Soviet on 15 June – 3 October 1993. The crucial decisions about building the Army were made. The Law of the Azerbaijan Republic ‘On Perpetuating the Shahid Name and the Benefits to the Shahid Family’ was passed. Also, the Constitution and several legislative documents were amended.

Also in that period, Heydar Aliyev was taking the needful steps to raise the population’s morale, conducting the propaganda suitable to the time of war and rendering the armed formations harmless. He often shared his thoughts of the situation in the country with the people.

The ‘Talysh-Mugan Republic’ was declared in the southern region of the country on 7 August. Heydar Aliyev met with MPs, the intelligentsia and the aksakals of the region at the Parliament to talk about this. And on 17 August the Milli Majlis passed a resolution ‘On the Situation in the Lankaran, Astara, Masalli, Lerik, Yardimli, Jalilabad and Bilasuvar Provinces of Azerbaijan’ thusly giving a political assessment of the ‘Talysh-Mugan Republic’ fib. That inglorious encroachment was put an end to following the request of the people.

A referendum of no confidence in Abulfaz Elchibey was held on 29 August 1993 pursuant to the resolution of the Milli Majlis. The PFA-Musavat pair again showed consequent to the referendum that they enjoyed no public support at all.

While chairing the Parliament, Heydar Aliyev defined the new foreign political concept of Azerbaijan and determined Azerbaijan’s place in the system of international relations issuing from the national strategic interests. First, the blunders that the PFA had made in that area were corrected swiftly.

The chairman of the Supreme Soviet also paid a lot of attention to culture, sciences and education; he had meetings with scientists and youth to share his thoughts of the future of the country with them.

Heydar Aliyev, whilst active in that position, reiterated the significance of ensuring the supremacy of law and institution of the free civil society principles, saying, ‘The Azerbaijan Republic ought to move along the path of democracy, Azerbaijan should adopt and further the truly democratic principles and political pluralism should be allowed in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan must be organised as a multi-party society and the parties should be allowed to act. Azerbaijan must take the path of free market economy. The ambience of civil solidarity, peace and sound competition between people, political parties and organisations need to be created in Azerbaijan’.

Heydar Aliyev said at the Milli Majlis sitting on 3 July that he was suspending all the oil negotiations conducted since the PFA time and thought that any decision regarding them would only have to be made after they had been scrutinised by specialists and professional conclusions had been had. The interests of Azerbaijan had to be at the heart of that, too. Again, time showed the visionary statesman was correct once more.

Though he only served as a chairman of the Supreme Soviet for four months, Heydar Aliyev was able to change the very spirit of the parliament and introduce a political culture to the Milli Majlis in such a short period. His style of conducting meetings, justifying his opinions with exactitude, the ability to grasp the essence of speeches and the ability to generalise valuable ideas were in themselves adding up to a new example set for the parliament to follow. They were a true school of parliamentarism for the MPs.

It can be said without exaggeration that the foundation of Azerbaijan’s future progress as a democratic, legal and secular state was laid during Heydar Aliyev’s brief chairmanship of the Supreme Soviet. It was no coincidence that 98.8% of the constituents cast their votes for Heydar Aliyev at the presidential election of 3 October 1993 thus showing the world at large their intention to put the fate of the country in the hands of this outstanding statesman.

As a leader of the country Heydar Aliyev deemed it crucial to carry out economic, political, social and legal reforms and to embed the democratic values in the society. He therefore attached great importance to drafting the new Constitution of the country and governed the process personally. The first democratic Constitution of the independent Azerbaijan was adopted by popular vote after long-winded deliberations on 12 November 1995. The first parliamentary election ever in the period of independence was conducted and the first-convocation Milli Majlis began to work on the same day.

The adoption of the Supreme Law of the land created a legal foundation for building the state on as much as it did for the future public progress. Thus was begun the most productive epoch in our history in terms of making the independence of Azerbaijan stronger and it acquiring the permanent and irreversible nature. A short while after, the Commission for Legal Reforms was put together to the order of the Head of the State dated 21 February 1996; the Commission drew up draft laws concerned with the various segments of life in the country in a brief period. The Parliament was supporting Heydar Aliyev in this work.

Speaking of the laws that were passed then, one could mention the following: the Civil Code, the Civil-Procedural Code, the Code of Administrative offences, the Criminal Code, the Criminal-Procedural Code, the Penalty Implementation Code, the Customs Code, the Tax Code, the Merchant Shipping Code and other codes; and the laws – On Land Reform, On the Constitution Court, On Courts and Judges, On the Prosecution Office, On the Police, On Lawyers and the Bar, On the Diplomatic Service and so forth.

Those documents played a role central to the construction of a legislative basis for the legal, democratic and secular state and the civil society as well as for the market economy in the country.

If one referred to the statistical information, one would see that 975 out of the 1,715 laws and resolutions that the Milli Majlis passed from 10 October 1993 to 30 December 2002 were passed at the instance of President Heydar Aliyev.

Azerbaijan, which created the first democratic republic in the East on Heydar Aliyev’s initiative in 1998, was the first once again – this time, as regards the abolishment of death penalty. That was a clear example of the attention to the human rights and freedoms exercised at the state level.

Heydar Aliyev issued a decree on 2 June 2002 putting on popular vote a draft act of the referendum on constitutional amendments with a view to the continued streamlining of the national laws and accelerating the Euro-Atlantic integration of our country. That was firstly intended to make the state as well as the democratic standards and principles stronger yet, following the logic of Heydar Aliyev’s deep philosophical reasoning.

The Parliament had passed the crucial laws on the European integration by then. Amongst them were the fundamental constitutional laws ‘On the Official (ombudsman) for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijan Republic’, ‘On the Regulation of the Realisation of the Human Rights and Freedoms in the Azerbaijan Republic’ and ‘On Guaranteeing Further the Right of the Milli Majlis to Resolve the Issue of the Confidence in the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Republic’.

Having voted in favour of the referendum act on 24 August 2002, the overwhelming majority of the population voted in support of the legislative reforms furthered under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev in the country. The amendments made in the Constitution empowered the citizens to appeal to the Ombudsman and the Constitution Court. The authority of the Milli Majlis had been taken into account, too: it was given the right to elect the Ombudsman and to appoint the judges of the Court of Appeal. One package of those amendments had to do with the enhancement of the role played by the judicial power and with giving the prosecution authorities the right of legislative initiative.

The amendments to the Supreme Law reflected the reality of the Azerbaijan Republic whilst also serving the cause of our nation’s continued progress and statehood advance. It was not for nothing that the Parliament expressed the unequivocal support for that legislative policy initiative of Heydar Aliyev in its appropriate address made on 29 July 202. That was one of the brightest examples of the joint efforts of Heydar Aliyev and the Parliament.

The foreign political strategy of Heydar Aliyev placed a serious emphasis on expanding the international relations of the Parliament. Consequently, the Milli Majlis is now a legally competent member of the parliamentary assemblies of a number of influential international organisations including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. At the same time, the Azerbaijani Parliament cooperates closely both with the European Parliament and the North Atlantic Parliamentary Assembly.

The working groups for the relations with the parliaments of more than 60 countries have been formed in the Milli Majlis. Parliamentary delegations go on foreign trips frequently while the Milli Majlis has meetings with visiting overseas politicians, public figures and parliamentarians. All that is central to accumulating legislative experience and exchanging information alike. The Parliament of Azerbaijan is contributing worthily to the advancement of the international relations of our country.

One of the more evident examples of the high level of the relations between the president and the parliament in Azerbaijan was the meeting that the Milli Majlis held on 23-24 February 2001 to discuss the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Highland Garabagh. Commenting on the problems related to the problem of Highland Garabagh at that meeting, Heydar Aliyev justly remarked that the situation would not have been aggravated quite so much had the right use been made of the national pride and awakening that swept over the Azerbaijani people exciting them enough to be assembled in squares and form a united, unwavering power. (The text of the speech)

Representatives of the political parties and non-governmental organisations active in the country as well as of the intelligentsia and the general public had been invited to the meeting attended also by the Head of the State. In reality, that was the president’s consultation with the people. That such an important event would be held at the Milli Majlis doubtless witnesses that Heydar Aliyev was up-keeping the high repute of the Parliament.

Heydar Aliyev regarded the development of the parliamentarism traditions through the prism of the preservation and continued strengthening of our independence. He thought this area an unalienable part of the statehood ideology. He said repeatedly that the independent Azerbaijan was the heir to the Democratic Republic that existed at the dawn of the twentieth century. One of the essential power branches, today’s Milli Majlis adheres to the principle of legacy and is continuing the parliamentarism traditions.

As he spoke at the ceremonial meeting of the Milli Majlis on the occasion of the 80^th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Heydar Aliyev stated his opinion about the matter in this way, ‘The Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic remains the successor to the Parliament that the Democratic Party created. Succession, in turn, has forever meant great responsibility, too. Succession is not about re-enacting an event that once took place or living at the same level. Whilst holding dear the principle of succession, any successor to that epoch, that event ought to raise that event, that epoch and that design to a yet greater height. We in Azerbaijan are busy doing just that, and we have achieved much in this sense. I suppose that today’s Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan bears the name of a successor with dignity and, at the same time, has done a lot for the progress of the independent Azerbaijani State over the past years and, especially, during the recent period’. (The text of the speech)

Whilst an heir to the Parliament of the Democratic Republic, the Milli Majlis today relies on the ideas of Heydar Aliyev in its cause of perpetuating the Azerbaijani statehood. Not only did the return to power of such a historical person endowed with a wealth of administrative experience and an unbending will save the state independence and political existence of Azerbaijan but it also started a new epoch in the history of the Azerbaijani parliamentarism.

His astonishing salvation mission let Azerbaijan avoid the fate of the Democratic Republic that existed at the beginning of last century. Azerbaijan left all the shocks behind it soon enough, overcame all the hurdles successfully and became a state that looks into the future with confidence.

Social and political stability was restored to the country soon enough. Coups were curbed with all the resolve it took to do so. A ceasefire was announced along the frontline. Practical steps were taken to build the Army. Large-scale legal, economic and social reforms were started in the country. Further, a democratic, free, fair and transparent electoral system was established; presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections were conducted more than once, and the multi-party pluralistic parliament began to function. All the conditions were provided for free activities of political parties, non-governmental organisations and mass media.

Large-scale privatisation of the state property was initiated in a short while, the land reform was implemented and the legislative frameworks were built for a free market economy. The agreement to develop the oil-fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, called the Contract of the Century, and the other oil contracts were ratified by the Parliament and began to bring their tangible fruit.

Azerbaijan became an active participant and initiator of such projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. The independent Azerbaijan made its mark in such world-scale projects as, for instance, the restoration of the ancient Great Silk Way and the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line. The truthful and fair voice of the country began to sound from high rostra.

It was no accident that the Parliament of Azerbaijan resolved at a sitting on 27 June 1997 to declare the day of Heydar Aliyev’s return to power the National Salvation Day.

The resolution read, ‘The return to power of Heydar Aliyev who had complied with the will of his nation in the gravest days when the fate of the freedom and state independence of the Azerbaijani people were at stake was indeed the voluntary assumption of the complex and honourable mission of saving the independent Azerbaijan Republic, the Azerbaijani nation and the historic achievements made in the course of the national liberation movement. It was truly the unprecedented dedication of the son of the Motherland with a great heart, the son who charged forward saying, “I sacrifice even the remaining part of my life for my people”’.

The return of Heydar Aliyev to political power in Azerbaijan began a new political era and a new age of thinking in this region of the ancient Caucasus. It was precisely that new era that gave Azerbaijan the reason to be called a legal and democratic state in the 21^st century.

Now, Azerbaijan, reliant on the ideas of Heydar Aliyev, including those of the high-level relations between the president and the parliament in state administration, astounds the world with its successes. The Parliament of the country, too, is contributing worthily to the making of those successes.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan once commented on this subject in a speech of his in the Milli Majlis, saying, ‘The Milli Majlis is a place very dear and close to me, my sweet home… We serve a common goal. Our cause and our interests are the same and are about consolidating and strengthening our country, improving the well-being of the Azerbaijani people and building a powerful and wealthy state’.

The Azerbaijani nation possessed of the esprit to withstand hardily all the hardships in the name of freedom and independence is today the most deserving graduate of the Heydar Aliyev political school. Nowadays, this nation is writing a new and bright page of its glorious history under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

The successful continuation by his successor of the causes initiated by Heydar Aliyev, the founder of the Azerbaijani Statehood, tells that Azerbaijan is marching into the future confidently and will conquer yet higher summits in the 21^st century.